


Soulstruck and Gold-bound

by PurpleMango



Series: Things I Wrote When I Should Have Been Doing Literally Anything Else [8]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: (With Tom), Good Parent Narcissa Black Malfoy, Harry Potter is Not the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter is So Done, Harry Potter is a Horcrux, Harry Potter is a Little Shit, James Potter Being an Asshole, M/M, Master of Death Harry Potter, Minister for Magic Tom Riddle, Misguided Albus Dumbledore, Possessive Tom Riddle, Squibs, Tom Riddle is a Walking Red Flag, Twins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:00:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 28,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27654460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleMango/pseuds/PurpleMango
Summary: He shook slightly with the effort of trying not to laugh, containing himself just as Tom looked up. “It would do you no good to eat him- he is all skin and bone, plus turning him would be no use either, as no one wants the runt of the litter.”That made Aza’s lips curl up, a soft huff of laughter escaping his lips.Takes one to know one, Tommy boy.Tom looked at him for another moment before looking away again. “Though whatever the verdict is, I recommend you burn that hideous thing he’s wearing on his head.”Gods above, whoever thought Tom Riddle would be upset by a crown of plastic flowers?
Relationships: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | Voldemort
Series: Things I Wrote When I Should Have Been Doing Literally Anything Else [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1304639
Comments: 94
Kudos: 551





	1. Name me after an angel and watch me become the devil you fear

**Author's Note:**

> I will stop writing new spinoffs of the same ship only when the gods themselves come to stop me and even then, they'll have to fight me for it

Every version of this story starts with two irresponsible parents. Two young barely-of-age adults that never had an actual education on how to participate in safe sex that has decided that they will love each other forever like all the stories in the fairytales because a boy was mean and picked on a girl until she gave in and slept with him.

Sounds sketchy? Well, it was.

James Potter was a spoiled rich kid who thought that because his dad didn’t eat dinner every night with him and his mom because of work that he was neglected even when his mother was a loving and supportive parent that essentially devoted her whole life to her son. 

Lily Evans was a girl with a smart mouth that thought that being pretty would get her everywhere in life, who lorded her magic over her sister’s head and bullied Petunia until it drove her sibling away from magic even in being a squib, essentially ruining her sibling’s life.

When historians told him that they were meant for each other, he usually agreed.

As for Dumbledore, with all his faults, the historians ended up saying he was right. The easiest way to get a child born from two selfish delusional fools to sacrifice himself for the ‘greater good’ was to put him in an abusive household and tell him he as a person amounted to nothing.

The _moral_ way would have been to give the child to a family that loved him and then when he was of age, go to him and pose the dilemma of the Horcrux living in his head, or even to ask the goblins to transfer the soul piece inside him to something material before it fully latched onto the boy as a baby. 

But that would have been hard.

Better to just sacrifice one life for a whole bunch of others- no matter that the method used wasn’t clean and people died anyway so, in the end, it wasn’t just one life that got ‘sacrificed’, nor that the boy then got glorified for having walked to his death… no that wasn’t Dumbledore’s problem because he’d planned his death in a way that made him essentially a saint to the Wizarding World.

And the boy had to live with that weight on his shoulders, glorified as the boy who would save all the people who wouldn’t have done a single thing for him and being told he was so ‘lucky’ to have had a mentor that had sent him to his death… until he didn’t.

Harry Potter had always thought it would have been kinder if he’d stayed dead, so when the world drove him to that grey train station that was the place in between life and death for the fifth time before he’d even turned twenty, he finally took the train.

He’d had enough of dying for people who didn’t even see him as a person with his own feelings.

James Potter saw the red-head girl in the same class get sorted into the house that he had been told by his father was the ‘best’ and fell in lust.

Lily Potter gave in when she realized he was attractive and wealthy because she hated her non-magical heritage so much she wanted to get as far away from it as possible.

Albus Dumbledore found two teenage idiots willing to be the poster-children for his cause of integrating the wizarding world into the non-magical world as ‘normal people, but better’ like some gross plagiarism of Grindelwald’s ideals.

The story always starts the same.

Only this time fate had shoved the one person that was just about done with these three people right back into their path.

The Harry Potter of this world had an unplanned, unexpected twin that came out so still they almost thought him stillborn until a nurse found his pulse and rushed him into a magical incubator. And in the scramble of irrational unplanned-ness, Lily and James named him Azarias Jameson Potter.

A real heartfelt name, given that it was literally a random name Lily picked from the Bible and one of James’s ego trips.

Azarias didn’t remember being born, as that was idiotic and even if his soul was fully tethered to his damned infant body (being it was the soul of an adult), the infant eyesight and memory span wouldn’t probably have let him remember such an event. In all, aside from being born to Lily and James Potter, he had almost no attachment to them even as an infant. Instead, he was left in the NICU with nurses to take care of his unconscious body with the Potter accounts paying to keep him alive but with no physical interaction from his so-called ‘family’.

No one other than the hospital staff, Dumbledore, the marauders, and Minerva McGonagall (his last-minute godmother), had any idea there was another Potter.

But even then, time is a pond and if you mess with one area it tends to ripple out and change everything.

He just wished he could be somewhere on the outsides for once, instead of the middle.

Aza wasn’t supposed to know the truth. His aunt had told him the dumb ‘it was a car crash’ story so many times he had the urge to laugh every time he saw a car like the tiny psycho they thought he was, but when Aza was six and had been cleaning out his uncle’s office he’d poked around and found a bundle of letters. Actual muggle letters from Lily Potter that had been coming once a year since October 31st, 1981.

It turned out that he’d been in the NICU, still unconscious and barely alive when Voldemort had attacked the cottage in Godric's Hollow. Only this time around Voldemort stunned both the Potters when he went to try to kill Harry, who had ‘defeated’ him with the ‘power of love’ (which turned out to be an elaborate blood-magic potion Lily had bought from the goblins illegally). On that day only minutes after Harry almost died, Aza's magical incubator had been fried by a surge of what the nurses called a ‘miracle’ but Dumbledore thought was ‘dark magic’, so in their paranoia, the Potters had cast him to Petunia.

Unwanted.

Which, given the conversations he’d had after the war with Petunia, was probably why she’d taken him in at all. Because anything not good enough for Lily was perfect for Petunia, even if it was a magical child the woman was determined to raise to spite her sister.

And really? Aza didn’t mind that one bit.

Given the choice and choosing to take him in instead of having a child dropped on her doorstep changed how Petunia treated him by lightyears. He had the smaller of the two bedrooms, an actual bed, a public library card, and though he did more than his fair share of chores still he was actually a part of their family. 

Mostly. 

Vernon was still an abusive asshole and Dudley didn’t know enough to understand he shouldn’t mimic his father, but at least his uncle tried not to leave visible bruises and didn’t have the power to lock him in a cramped space without food.

Practicing magic when the rest of the house was asleep, pushing his ability for wandless magic until it was almost second nature to imagine what he wanted to happen, and then just flicking his fingers as he would a wand, he got good at pretending he didn’t have an ounce of magic anywhere on him. And when he’d turned seven and the Elder Wand, Resurrection Stone, and Invisibility cloak showed up by his bedside table, he cut his hand on a nail he’d pulled up from the floorboards and covered the items in his blood. Like he’d found out the last lifetime on accident, the three objects disappeared in a cloud of black smoke that then shoved its way down his throat. 

When he woke again in the morning, his hair was black instead of a dark brown, his eyes were acid green, and his features had a sort of aristocratic sharpness to them.

He tried not to think too much on why that didn’t surprise him- or the heavy black mark of the Deathly Hallows that moved around on his skin, unseen as long as he was wearing some type of clothing.

The cut was easy enough to pass off as an accident, but he made sure to put up a glamour that he then slowly let fade over the span of a year to get the others used to his new features slowly.

Aza made the best of his time as a kid again, doing everything from learning every single thing he thought was mildly interesting, to making friends with the neighborhood kids.

Petunia encouraged his creative side, as she loved to be able to show off whatever knitting, sewing, baking, or painting he did with her uppity book club and he got better material out of it. And when one of her friends commented how ‘pretty’ he was, she started buying him nicer clothes too so she could parade him around for the other moms. It was a bit patronizing, but a few of the moms were actually very sweet and he got to soak up the praise like a tiny emotionally-stunted sea sponge.

His second favorite time was when he got to go to the library.

He had been reading about space and how the universe worked, the stars an interest of his since Sirius had told him that the Black family were all named after stars, but then the nice librarian had asked him to help her sort old newspapers and he’d gotten sort of… absorbed. The most magical-related thing he’d found yet was the old newspaper with pictures of Grindelwald calling him a ‘cult leader’ and ‘insane madman’, but then he ended up staring at the picture of Lily and James Potter at their wedding with Sirius and Remus standing on either side of them, all smiling.

It was the residual guilt and longing for his godfathers that had him digging further into the records- but there was no news of Sirius Black, only the report of a house in Godric’s Hallow exploding and the ‘bomber’ being identified as Peter Pettigrew who had been sentenced to jail.

It was a hollow sort of feeling that settled in his chest when he read that, as he thought if it was safe and there were no marked deaths with Lily obviously being alive and paying Petunia to keep him away from them and in the dark about the magical world… wouldn’t Sirius or Remus find him? 

_Did no one want him?_

The lingering doubt drove him further into the library records, trying to find what he could of the magical world without revealing he knew about it just yet, unsure what Dumbledore was planning.

Aza’s hands were trembling, having found a newspaper when he’d had the thought to search using the name ‘Malfoy’ on one of the computers he’d helped scan all the newspapers into, though he almost wished he hadn’t.

**‘ANCIENT MANOR BURNED DOWN, POLICE SUSPECT TERRORISTS’**

_Burned down._

Half of him was freaking out over if Draco had been okay, hastily reading through the paper and releasing a sigh of air when it didn’t mention any deaths… but the other half was wondering about the Diary Horcrux.

Obviously, this was some stupidly-thought out move by one of the inexperienced Order Members- _probably James, if he was being honest with himself_ \- but it could have so many different after-effects… as Lucius and Narcissa would see that as an attack against their family and they could very well make the Order enemies of the Ministry. Not that Lucius was a huge threat, as he mostly talked cheap, but Narcissa…

Oh, he thought he’d never be more scared of a woman than he was of an angry Minerva McGonagall, but Narcissa had lied to the Dark Lord’s face to protect her family and he knew she would do _anything_ for her son.

Shuddering at that thought, Aza was about to exit the article when a string of text caught his eyes. ‘...historic mansion and its priceless collection of books all reduced to ash…’

He swallowed.

_A historic collection of books that still included the Diary Horcrux._

Sitting back with a breath of air, he looked at the ceiling. “Bloody hell.”

_Who knew what kind of ripples this could make in the series of events, as he had no idea what kind of madness could be caused by an incorrectly-destroyed Horcrux… he just hoped that whoever caused the fire was smart enough to use fiendfyre._

Aza turned eleven without a letter, his magic as cloaked as the rest of him by Death’s cloak, and he ended up going to a normal public school where he skipped grades and blew through everything that was expected of him.

When he turned twelve, he was three years above the other kids his age, the teachers whispering about him being some sort of genius when it was mostly just occlumency and boredom driving him to soak up information.

His uncle didn’t seem to like this if the way he bashed Aza’s head against the counter and almost split his skull (read: did split his skull and left him to die then heal before Petunia and Dudley got home) was any indication, but he didn’t take any notice except to help Dudley with his schoolwork. Though he did choose not to tell his aunt and uncle he was getting around to taking his GCSE tests at the end of the year, as they didn't need to know that until he could figure out a way to get himself legally emancipated.

Everything was good- he was aloud outside as he pleased and even had a bus pass to the library… until it wasn’t.

Exactly a week before Aza’s thirteenth birthday he was home alone while his aunt and uncle left to take Dudley out shopping, cleaning up the kitchen when the doorbell rang. Picking himself up and pulling off his rubber gloves so he could grab his water bottle, he trotted over to the door. If it was one of the neighborhood kids or the moms, Petunia would want him to answer, so that was what he did.

Except, when he pulled the door open, he found Severus Snape standing on the stoop with his arms crossed.

He only allowed himself to blink once in surprise before speaking. “Hello.” He popped open the lid of his water bottle and took a sip while staring at the man.

Snape peered at him in faint surprise. 

“And... Goodbye.” Aza smiled thinly then shut the door firmly, locking it before starting back to the kitchen. As he was getting his gloves back on, he heard the door slam open, though he didn’t look up from where he was scrubbing the floors.

“Azarias Potter, I am Professor Severus Snape from Hogwarts, school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”

“Did Dumbledore send you?” When there was a pause, he scoffed bitterly. “No use making up a lie, Professor. Did the man that convinced my parents they could pawn me off like a loaf of bread send you or not? Because if so, I have more than a few not-so-nice words for him.” 

The man’s voice was not soft, but it was slower, spoken carefully. “What do you know of the magical world?”

Pausing, he considered his options for a moment before finally standing back up and looking the man in the eyes. “I know it exists. I know that I had parents and a twin, but my family left me here when I was barely a year old because they thought that having a squib around their precious ‘hero’ would corrupt him. I know that Albus Dumbledore encouraged me to be placed with my aunt and uncle, and I know he is the Headmaster of the school you work at.” Then he crossed his arms coolly. “So tell me, Professor… why would I trust you?”

“Dumbledore is no longer Headmaster. He is considered the mastermind behind a terrorist group by the Magical Ministry, along with your parents, and the school was taken over by a woman named Minerva McGonagall.”

Aza relaxed slowly. “Well… good.” He worried at his lip for a moment before looking at the man. “In that case, I apologize for shutting the door on your face. Can I get you some tea?”

Snape studied him for a long moment before nodding slightly. “You said… you have not displayed any type of magic? Anything unusual happenings or things that you could not explain during your childhood.”

“Nothing abnormal.” Though he smiled faintly as he waved his hand, hopping up onto the counter as the kettle moved to the sink and the tap turned on all on its own before the kettle floated back over to the stove where the gas turned on. Aza’s grin was barely withheld. “No, I can’t think of anything freaky or unusual happening around here.”

As the man’s eyes widened, the floor started to clean itself and Snape stepped back. “That… is wandless magic.”

“Is that what it’s called?” He swung his feet with a small smile. “I wondered for the longest time why my so-called ‘mother’ told my aunt that I didn’t have magic… but I’ve been more than happy to act as if I can’t do magic. Anything too weird freaks out my uncle quite a lot.”

Snape narrowed his eyes on Aza as if trying to get in his mind without actually trying. “And when did this… start?”

He pulled the same confused face he did when Kingsley had gotten on his arse about the long cases where he’d died and come back covered in his own blood but mostly healed. “About a couple of years ago, maybe?… I used to have to hide the reports from the school because I’d turned a teacher’s hair blue or teleported to the roof accidentally.”

Seeming to consider that, the man with the long greasy hair nodded. “I was chosen by the Ministry to come to talk to you, as your parents and brother are considered enemies of Magical Britain. The Minister was thinking about pursuing legal matters when your name came up in the Book of Names at Hogwarts, but some parties thought you might not be on your parents' side if nothing was known of you, as I see is now true.” Curling his hands behind his back when he took the letter, the man watched him with impassive eyes. “However according to the lawsuit Lord Malfoy filed against James Potter, all unclaimed assets of the Potter family belong to the Malfoys, meaning you became a ward of the Malfoys from the day of your discovery.”

Aza tilted his head back and laughed, a dark cackle that he couldn’t hold back from bubbling up when he’d heard that destroying the Malfoy manor had cost James more than he ever thought.

_Never fuck with Narcissa Malfoy when it comes to family._

Still giggling, he nodded. “I-” He wheezed. “Lemme get my- my things.”

Snape followed him as he stumbled up the stairs almost drunkenly, still occasionally snorting as he tried to hold in all his untapped mirth. “You seem to find this exceedingly humorous. May I ask why?”

“Karma’s a _bitch_.” He snickered as he put a few of his clothes into his backpack along with as many books as he could before moving to the closet and pulling out a duffle bag he then stored his yarn, books, roller skates, drawing pencils, and a jar of crumpled pounds he pulled from the floorboards. Catching the man peering at him, he grinned. “Insurance I collected every time my uncle hit me. It’s rightfully mine now.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

Shrugging on his favorite hoodie and tennis shoes, he put the plastic flower crown he’d stolen on his head, sliding on a pair of sunglasses. “Okay, Professor, shall we go meet my new owners?” At the man’s look, he grinned and picked up his bags. “Oh, that’s _sweet_. Do you think I still have any ounce of hope in me that anyone will see me as anything but the son of two idiot terrorists? No, no, I know all too well I’m the twin no one wants.”

Snape stopped him right before they got to the door, his hand outstretched but not touching him, seeming to see how he almost jerked away from the contact. The man’s dark eyes were solemn. “I doubt that they will hurt or treat you badly, even as the son of those people, when you had nothing to do with what happened.”

Aza just raised an eyebrow above his shades. “Five pounds I get locked up in some sort of dungeon by the end of the night.”

“Ten they take you in as part of their family.”

He just scoffed. “Easy money.”

Last he’d stood before the tall iron gates of Malfoy Manor, it was by his life and death, but now he just looked up at the manor behind his shades impassively. “Looks old… sounds like I’ll be sleeping behind actual cell bars to me.”

“Keep walking, Potter.”

“Please don’t call me that, Professor. I go by Aza or ‘boy’, if you must, just pick something other than that name.”

Snape looked at him again like he was thrown off by everything he said, before nodding slightly. They walked in silence after the man pushed open the gates, his magic making the bags easier to carry as he was still a twig of a boy without much of the muscle his cousin had. Knocking on the door three times, Snape crossed his arms.

“I’ll be alright.” When the man looked at him, he smiled easily. “You can play it as cool and unaffected as you want, I can tell you’re worried about me, I’m just saying you don’t have to be. I will be fine, no matter what happens to me.”

The man's lips pursed. “You can’t know that.”

“I can, as there is nothing they can do to me that I have not already survived, and even despite their best efforts I will continue to survive until I do not wish to anymore, as I am the only one who has power over myself anymore.”

“That is ridiculous.”

The door opened to a woman with tightly coiled black hair and familiar silvery eyes, though they were far less crazed than when he'd last seen Bellatrix Lestrange. With a grin that was still every bit as sharp, the woman reached forward and gently took the glasses from where he stood stiffly. Teeth on full display, the woman hummed. “How adorable… Well, I better keep this one away from Fenrir or he’ll get all chewed up!”

_Werewolves- the clingy bastards._

Snape shoved at his shoulder, breaking him from his stupor just long enough to step past the woman and filch the sunglasses back from her hand, sliding them back on. He’d rather leave his eyes out of this, as he didn’t feel like bringing in their unnatural green color to what was looking more and more like a Death-Eater infested house.

“This way~” Bellatrix danced away.

Digging into his backpack as he walked, he brought out an apple he’d had in his backpack in case he went to the library today, biting into it just as he followed the woman into a large room with people lingering around on couches. His eyes flicked over the Death Eaters, chewing as he reminded himself that he really didn’t give a shit about this world and he didn’t have to fight these adults this time.

The group stared at him as he bit into the apple again.

A familiar woman stood, eyes cold as she looked at Snape. “Well?”

“Azarias has not had contact with the Potters since they, and I say this verbatim from what he told me truthfully, left him with his aunt when he was barely a year old because they thought that having a squib around their precious ‘hero’ would corrupt him.”

There was a hum from the edge of a room, a man with neatly-styled dark brown hair looking up from a good-sized desk, his eyes glinting red in the light.

Aza chewed thoughtfully. 

_Tom Riddle looked fairly healthy this time around, considering he actually had a nose._

“Oh, and look at his eyes!” Bellatrix tore the sunglasses from his face, making him snarl lowly at her, baring his teeth.

Laughing, the woman did the same back to him.

With an eye roll, he held out his hand with a pointed look.

“I like him, the feral little thing.” Bellatrix handed him back his sunglasses.

Snorting, he tossed her the rest of his apple and then slid his sunglasses back on, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Then he crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows at Tom, who looked unimpressed with the whole manner- very _Diary Horcrux_ of him. 

Waving his hand dismissively, Tom turned back to whatever he’d been looking at. “Kill him for all I care. He is of no use to me if he has no information pertaining to the Order.”

_Bastard. Who do you think killed you last time around, snakeface?_

Ignoring firmly the fact he was almost disappointed that after seven years of fighting Tom the man didn’t even recognize him as his real threat, he looked instead to where Narcissa was assessing him.

“He’s cute. Small… _Tasty_.” Fenrir grinned toothily from the sofa.

Aza tilted his head, looking at the wolf over the top of his sunglasses with narrowed eyes, seeing the man feel the creeping chill that only magical creatures could sense from him and only if he wanted them to.

The wolf shuddered. “Nevermind. The witch is right, he has creepy eyes- he’s probably poisonous or something.”

He shook slightly with the effort of trying not to laugh, containing himself just as Tom looked up. “It would do you no good to eat him- he is all skin and bone, plus turning him would be no use either, as no one wants the runt of the litter.”

That made Aza’s lips curl up, a soft huff of laughter escaping his lips.

_Takes one to know one, Tommy boy._

Tom looked at him for another moment before looking away again. “Though whatever the verdict is, I recommend you burn that hideous thing he’s wearing on his head.”

_Gods above, whoever thought Tom Riddle would be upset by a crown of plastic flowers?_

Narcissa cleared her throat, eyes still narrowed on him, but she spoke to him instead of about him as the others had done. “Your father endangered my family and for that, I have taken everything valuable of his that I could. Do you understand that?”

“Completely.” Aza nodded. “And I wanted to actually thank you, as hearing that gave me no small amount of glee. I’ve been waiting for that fool to get his just desserts for _ages_ now.”

The man to his side gave a small sigh and put a hand up to his face. “And now he speaks.”

Aza grinned up at Snape. “No one was addressing me.” Looking back at the woman, he felt himself soften and he took off his sunglasses to look at her seriously, hands fiddling with the frames. “As for your family, Ma’am, I can only speak for myself when I say you should take whatever revenge will give you closure, as no one deserves to feel unsafe in their own home.”

Narcissa tilted her head. “As you probably suspect by now, there is an option on the table for me to choose to kill you.”

“If you do, can I be burnt alive?” He twirled the sunglasses in his hand. “I read that it was the most painful way to die and was curious if that compares to _hypothetically_ having your skull split open and almost bleeding out on the kitchen floor while a man _hypothetically_ screams over you about how little your life is worth.”

The room was quiet.

He smiled sarcastically. “Respectfully Ma’am, but I really don’t give a shit what you do with me. This world has hit its limits of Potters anyway and if those two idiots that gave birth to me try for another kid fate might kill me off just to even out the number of Potters allowed to exist at one time.”

“There are plenty of dark curses that would be far much more painful than being burnt alive.” Tom’s eyes were unreliable as he looked at Aza.

Aza shrugged, looking at Narcissa. “I get the feeling Lady Malfoy would find fire an apt revenge.” He could see it flickering in the woman’s eyes, humming and then crouching down to open his duffle bag. “I’ve got more than a few balls of yarn from projects I’m going to work on and I’m sure firewood wouldn’t be too hard to collect?”

_And then he would just disappear into the night with his jar of money, leave this place behind and go somewhere he could live without conflict._

Narcissa’s little sigh tasted like victory... but then she shook her head. “I will think about what to do with you, but for now the dungeons will do.”

He pursed his lips for a moment, though he still held out a hand. “Told you.”

Snape slapped down ten pounds in his hand, grumbling. “For a second there you sounded like you actually _wanted_ to die.”

Shoving the money into his pocket, he shrugged. “For a second there, I did.” Shouldering his bag, he looked at Bellatrix. “Would you mind showing me to my cell, Ma’am?”

“Minerva McGonagall, who runs the Grey faction, said that Dumbledore told her you’re a squib and he placed you in your aunt’s house because it was the best normal option for you.” Tom had his head resting in his chin, eyes laser-focused.

Aza considered his options in the span of a second before nodding. “I am. I don’t have an ounce of magic in me.”

Snape narrowed his eyes. “Nonsense. I saw you!”

He looked at the man as if in irritation (hiding his amusement with the whole situation). “Professor, respectfully, but I would prefer not to be mocked for my lack of magic.”

Flicking out his wand, the man cast a spell over him that felt a bit warm, eyebrows furrowing. “You don’t… it’s completely blank. You should be lighting up with some sort of- I saw you move that tea kettle! And the- the brush on the floor!”

“Perhaps you’re not feeling well.” He shrugged. “You can cast all the spells you want, but you won’t ever find any magic.”

_Death’s cloak had many uses, as he’d found over the years._

“Then you are of no interest after all.” Tom dismissed him for what seemed to be the final time.

_Ha. No obsessed Dark Lords for him this time around!_

“Good to know.” He looked at Bellatrix. “To my cage then?” 

The woman looked him over with a little less fondness now, but she still nodded and led him away from the room.


	2. Name me after a songbird so when you break my wings I can still sing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Cool Hell, where smooth jazz plays all-day (aka the inside of my head)

“Who are you?”

Aza looked up from his knitting to see Draco was standing before the bars of his cell. “I’m Azarias, but I mostly go by Aza. Nice to meet you, Draco.”

“How do you know my name?” The boy narrowed his eyes.

“Someone mentioned it in passing.” He almost wanted not to care, but Draco had been his Auror partner for a bit over a year after Ron got promoted and they’d grown close enough for him to consider Narcissa as the mother he’d never had. “You’re my age, aren’t you? Are you going to Hogwarts soon?”

Draco nodded. “Dumbledore was found to be taking money from the school and had to return it all- Father said that they’re changing all the classes and working with the Headmistress to update the amenities of the other houses to what Slytherin’s always had this summer, but I’m going back as soon as the summer is up!” He was silent for a moment. “What are you doing?”

“Knitting a blanket. I got bored and didn’t feel like reading, so I started this instead.” Glancing up, he saw the curiosity in the boy’s eyes and moved slowly from the stone bench to the floor before the bars, sitting down on the cold floor. Waiting calmly until Draco sat down opposite him, he smiled. “Want me to teach you how to knit?”

The boy seemed aloof, but he saw the interest in his eyes. “I guess.” 

“I’ll show you how I do it but backward, so that you can see what to do then you can try it, okay?”

“Okay.” The boy nodded, leaning in.

They sat there until the stone got warmer, guided by simple questions and the click of the knitting needles. Eventually, he slowly extended the circular needles through the bars so Draco could try, using his smaller hands to guide the boy.

“ _Draco_!”

Both looking up at where Narcissa had stepped around the corner, Draco dropped the project and stood, Aza pulling his knitting back into the cell before moving back from the bars warily. Watching as the woman fussed over her son, he frowned down at his knitting, hands still. “I wouldn’t hurt him.”

“Draco, go find your father and do not return down here.” When the boy moved away after a moment, the woman fixed him with a sharp look when he glanced up. “You are here to serve out the sins of your father, not to fill my son’s head with _nonsense_.”

Aza looked at her solemnly. “And if Lucius did something horrible and irreproachable? Would you want Draco to suffer at the hands of the opposition for something he had no part of?”

The woman practically hissed at him. “What do _you_ know?!”

“I know that if I cannot live, then I have no will to survive.” He smiled calmly at the woman. “If this is to be my home, I will break my own wings just to see the open sky again.”

“You will not escape.”

His laugh was soft. “I am sorry, cousin, but you could not stop me even if you tried. As it is, I will only call this cell home until I have run out of things to knit or read. Then should you not release me, I will release myself, as I have no particular attachment to living in a cage.”

Realization seemed to hit her as she stared at him. “You’re not joking.”

“Death is not a joking matter.”

Grey-blue eyes looked at him. “Tell me honestly, do you have magic?”

Aza saw the hope in her eyes, considering for a moment. But he had no attachment to this Narcissa yet and he didn’t care if her feelings were hurt. “No.” He smiled toothily. “You would not be able to find my magic even if you cut me open and dug out every single one of my organs.”

_He would never be used as a weapon again._

That hope sputtered out. “Those of this house… they do not care for those without magic and without it, there is little I can do for you.”

“Yes, I understand that quite well.” He looked back to his knitting. “Nice to see you.”

His blanket draped around him as he read quietly, he ignored the footsteps until they stopped in front of his cell. 

“Why?”

Aza didn't look up. “Why what?”

Snape sounded frustrated. “It’s like you came here knowing that you’d be locked up and are trying to get us to kill you- as if that’s any better.” When he just looked up, the man ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “Why. Tell me why you gave up. Tell me what got rid of the spark of defiance I saw when you slammed that door shut on my face.”

_‘Got rid of’?_

_That was funny- he thought Aza was anything if not a stubborn bastard? Ha._

“I refuse to fight other people’s battles again. If I wouldn’t have let Dumbledore use me, I won’t let your side use me either. I am not a weapon, nor an object. I am a human being and I will kill myself as many times as it takes to find a place where I can be just that.”

The man scowled. “Admitting you have magic isn’t-”

“I don’t have magic and I will continue to not have magic as long as I know that being free isn’t an option anymore, as James Potter sold that option when he burnt this damned manor to the ground.”

Snape furrowed his eyebrows.

Aza just turned the page of his book. “I read about it in the newspapers at the library.”

“How do you know it wasn’t Lily?”

He snorted bitterly. “Lily has had her head up Dumbledore’s arse ever since the first time he called her ‘the greatest witch of her generation’. She wouldn’t spare the thought he was wrong about something in a million years, nor disobey him to go burn down the house of an influential lord... At least not from the letters she sent Petunia.”

The man leaned against the wall opposite him. “Narcissa is considering entering you into a marriage contract with Draco to get you out and save your life.”

“He’s like my brother, tell her I would rather jump off a cliff.”

Snape paused for a moment, then nodded and just turned away. “...I will.”

Watching him walk away, he wondered what the man was up to, before shaking his head and looking back to his book- _right, he didn’t actually care_.

Something clinked against the bars of his cell and he looked up to the small window to the outside that he’d pushed open and been unable to close, seeing a big raven peeking its head into the window.

Aza set his book aside and then stood up, pushing the window open more so he could grab some crumbs from the power bar he’d had and toss them in front of the crow. Watching the bird eat them, he smiled faintly as he sat back down though the bird wiggled through the window and hopped around the bench, head ducking under his blanket as if curious. “What are you doing?”

With a soft ‘grawk’ sound, the raven moved further under the blanket and then sat down like a black blob.

He pulled up the blanket to look at the bird, shaking his head. “You’re welcome to stay, but I have to warn you, I’m probably bad company. Same with the people who come to visit me- they’re just as bad, if not worse.”

Another grawk.

“If you say so.”

Reading until the sun went down, he went to set the book aside only to find four more ravens sitting on the bench. Laughing softly, he moved to lay down along the wall pulling up the blanket so the ravens could waddle under. 

His snort was soft, starting to hum a song he’d thought of, eyes closing.

When he woke to a surprised noise, he blinked tiredly and looked up to find Narsicca, Snape, Barty, Lucius, and Tom staring at him. About to ask what the big deal was, he sat up slowly to find his cell was full of black birds all laying around the floor like feathery lumps. 

“Oh. Yeah. That happened.” Scratching his head, he pulled the blanket up carefully and leaned forward to look at the birds. “I thought I said that I would be having bad company and not to stick around? Or did I,” he yawned softly, “forget to mention that I’m currently not in this cell because I’m _well-liked_?”

The birds made a cacophony of grawk sounds, moving closer to him now that more room on the bench was open.

“Okay, but I meant by humans. You all are much smarter and know that I don’t mean to be scary or off-putting.” He chuckled as he was bullied into petting the birds like big feathered cats as they bumped their heads against his hands. “Snakes and birds are just cats in disguise, I swear... though I like cats significantly more than dogs.”

The birds seemed to cackle at that.

Aza grinned. “That goes for wolves too- they’re too dumb to even use their damn noses, trying to eat me all the time...”

“Azarias.”

Looking up, he tilted his head. “What’s up? Sorry, I got side-tracked talking to my new friends. Aren’t they pretty?”

Tom flicked out a familiar wand, leveling it at him and casting the same magic-identifying spell, his eyebrows furrowed as the spell came back negative, the crows chittering.

“That’s not a very nice thing to say, is it? He’s trying his best.”

One of the ravens by him made a croaking sound.

Aza bent forward as he wheezed, probably sounding a bit like a hyena as he gasped for air between laughs. “How about- how about we _don’t_ encourage the wizards to use my entrails as divining tools?”

Another raven made almost a soft disappointed grawk.

Giggling into the material of his blanket, he shook his head. “Go. Leave me to my bloody death and I’ll find you later, okay? Next time I’ll get birdseed.” When the birds started to leave, he chuckled softly. “And don’t tell anyone I’m here! I’d rather not be buried in snakes just yet!”

Cackling, the ravens slowly started to pour out.

Narcissa was looking at Tom with a frown. “-a block on his core? Perhaps Dumbledore could have-”

“I’m not blocked by anything but these cell bars and even then I’m really only staying because I respect Narcissa too much to leave.” He leaned back, burrowing further in his blankets. “But now I’m curious. Why has Mister Snake and the rest of the groupies come to see me today?”

Tom tilted his head slightly at the nickname but spoke up without pause. “Narcissa wishes to adopt you after you are checked over by a healer.”

That got Aza’s attention. “Oh? You come to release me then?”

“Yes.” Narcissa produced a set of keys and then moved to the cell door, opening it.

Sliding off the bench, he stretched and then tucked the blanket into his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder. “I’ll come back for the rest later.” Slowly, he stepped past the adults, glancing back at the cage. “Well. This has been fun.” 

He bolted, sliding around the corner just as a spell hit the place he’d been, sprinting down the corridors and then disappearing into the shadows, holding his breath.

“Find him!”

Watching the group run past, he grinned and then silenced himself as he walked back to his cell to grab his sketchbook. Walking calmly around the house and avoiding people, he got to the front door to find Snape standing in front of it calmly. Ducking behind a pillar, letting go of the silencing charm and the invisibility, he moved to look at the man. “Shame. A few more yards and I would have never been seen again.”

“I guessed as much.” The man held his wand loosely. “You could disarm me, we both know that.”

Aza laughed softly, holding up his arms as he heard footsteps behind him. “That, good sir, would be giving up all too easily.” His smirk was crooked. “The only thing I really got from James Potter was a nice healthy dose of stubbornness and I like it too much to give it up.”

“As much as I find myself invested in the puzzle you pose, I would _rather_ you stay within my reach.” Moving to his side and seeming to loom over his smaller frame, Tom narrowed his eyes. “As such, you will either give up your secrets or I will be forced to go to extremes.”

“My secrets are not yours to have.” Looking up at the man, he smiled serenely at the tick in the man’s sharp jaw. “My first impression of you was when you decided I was of no use to you, therefore I’ll follow by example and be sure to continue to be as such.”

The man’s ruby eyes were slits. “I have the strangest urge to strangle you with my bare hands.”

His grin widened. “I’ll take that to mean I’m doing a good job.”

Grabbing his wrists, the man cast a silent spell so that two gold bands with snakes engraved on them coiled around his wrists like fitted restraints. “It will not do you any good to antagonize me, Azarias.”

Aza ignored that, seeing Snape move and pulling his hands away so he could approach the front door cautiously. He could tell the magic was bonding in some way- _physically restricting rather than internally suppressing_ \- but when he touched the door handle and pulled back when it felt hot enough his fingers only registered _cold_ , he scowled deeply. 

“I find pain is a good motivator.”

“Of course you would, you sadist.” Taking a deep breath, he threw the door open and then marched out, feeling the magic press down on him. Back ramrod straight, he walked towards the gates, knees starting to shake as he got about halfway there and though he stumbled, he kept walking. 

A fourth of the way left.

His knee gave out from the pressure as he cursed in agony, staying there just long enough to take a deep breath before pushing himself up. Bracing himself on the hedges, vision starting to spot, he kept himself going through pure force of will, the pain making him blind as he reached out and touched the gates.

“Azarias…”

The voice was moving closer, obviously thinking he wouldn’t make it this far. 

Pulling open the gate, he cried out as he passed the barrier, knees giving out as he fell to the ground. Hearing the footsteps slow to a normal walk, he laughed and tasted blood on his tongue. “You… lose.”

But before he could fall forward- just mere inches from death- a hand grabbed his arm and the pain gave out all at once. Hitting him like a wave, he felt his eyes roll back into his head as he fell unconscious.

_So. Fucking. Close._

Waking up slowly and feeling as if he was hungover, head spinning and body aching, he curled up in a tighter ball than before. Only… this wasn’t his cell. Slowly cracking one eye, he found that he was laying in a cushy bed, his backpack on a nearby chair.

_They didn’t… did they?_

Throwing himself out of bed and grabbing his bag that he spotted nearby, he slipped his shoes back on when he found them, checking he had everything before casting a mental point-me. Striding past a dining room, ignoring everyone he passed, he threw open the door again, not feeling the pain.

_Idiots._

Aza walked head-first into a barrier, groaning and holding his head when he stumbled back slightly.

_Guess he was the idiot here._

Reaching out and pressing a hand to the invisible barrier, he slammed his hand against it, slumping forward dejectedly. “I just wanted a normal life...” Sliding to the floor, he put his head into his hands, feeling his magic vibrating under his skin in agitation- or was that just him shaking? Having trouble breathing, he grabbed at his backpack and hugged it to his chest, closing his eyes tight. “Fuck- not there- can’t- ‘m not a weapon. Can’t save them. Won’t do it again. I don’t- I don’t care. Don’t care. Don’t care. Not fighting.” 

There was a low noise and then a long snake moved to wrap around him loosely, a soft feminine voice whispering reassuringly.

“Not- not a weapon. I’m not a weapon. I’m a person, not a weapon.” His breathing was a bit easier the more he choked out that promise to himself, hands shaking as they ran across the snake’s scales. “I am Azarias. I’m Aza. My _name_ is _Aza_.” He pressed his palms to his eyes.

The snake he now realized was Nagini coiled around him protectively, tongue darting out to flick against his neck, making him flinch. She muttered soft sweet words, calling him ‘the dark little snakeling’ as she also murmured about how good he smelled.

Shakily, he counted to ten as his fingers tangled in his messy hair.

Finally out of the dredges of his panic attack, he sniffed and looked at the snake with wet eyes. “Thanks. It’s… it’s been a while since I’ve panicked that badly.” He petted the snake gently as she basked in his touch. “You were a really big help. Did the birds tell you I was here?”

**_:The birds were talking about a darkling. I followed the smell of woodsmoke and grapes to find the little dark one unable to breathe.:_ **

Aza rubbed at his eyes. “I need coffee injected straight into my veins, something I can use to stab myself with, and toast… in no particular order.” Slowly moving his backpack from his arms so he could support Nagini as she looped around his neck like a scarf, he stood with his backpack in hand and slowly made his way back towards the stairs.

“Breakfast is this way, little beastie.” Bellatrix ignored his low hiss, just turning him and pushing him into the dining room. She pulled out a chair next to Snape, looking pleased when after a second he sat down heavily.

Staring at the table blankly, he blinked when Nagini poked his cheek with her head. “Yes, fine, food, but hear me out- sinking into a depressed haze where nothing matters anymore sounds like a _lovely_ breakfast activity.”

**_:Just because you cannot leave here does not mean your life is over, darkling. Live within the confines given to you and you will be happy.:_ **

Aza’s hand started to shake under the table, so he reached out to grab the glass of water and bring it to his lips, feeling the cold liquid running down his throat. 

“Are such hysterical episodes a normal occurrence for you, Azarias?”

“Only when megalomaniacs force me to share their presence unwillingly.” He took another long drink of water, closing his eyes and steadying his magic. “It happens far more often than I would like.”

Narcissa leaned forward from across the table with a small smile. “I hope that you don’t mind that we kept your first name when we blood adopted you.” When he choked on his water, coughing into the sleeve of his oversized sweater, the woman seemed amused. “Though we changed your middle name and as of today you’re Azarias Jason Malfoy.”

Looking up at the woman he saw was actually sort of nervous about his reaction, he found himself smiling softly despite himself. “I… I will carry the Malfoy name with honor and pride.” Having the sudden realization that Draco would be his brother in actual blood, he leaned forward and scanned the table to find the blonde boy who was sitting with a young Blaise Zabini. “Hey, little brother.”

“I’m older than you.”

Aza laughed delightedly at that, clapping his hands. “Younger than you? You’re like thirteen, pipsqueak!”

Draco got even more confused and flustered. “SO ARE YOU!”

"That's what they want you to think." His voice was an amused mutter, sliding a foot under him and sitting up so he could lean over the table, fingers inches from the milk- his lips pulling together in concentration.

Snape decided to take pity on him (unlike the rest of the table that was watching his predicament in amusement) and moved the container into his hand, voice irritated. “You could use magic- I know you can!”

Finally getting his damn glass of milk poured, he sat back and sipped it daintily as if it was wine and not milk. “Excuse me- I am the squib-iest squib you will ever meet. In fact, I am so squibish that even Merlin could not be so squibbly, as I am a squib.” 

“Merlin was magic.”

“And I’m an inhuman being of darkness forced into a mortal form by a deity that hates me because Dumbledore couldn't keep it in his pants.” He downed his milk and stood, taking his plate of food with him. “Yeah, _that’s_ believable.”

Walking back to the front entranceway, he moved to open the door and then stepped back to sit on the floor, staring at the seemingly empty space. Because of the blood adoption, he was tied into the wards of the house and if those were the ones blocking him then it meant that the actual foundation of the building was against him.

Not that he couldn't break them, but it would take time and a lot of magic- both of which he didn't have. (Or couldn't show he had.)

Rubbing his face, he messed with his wavy black hair as he thought about all the time he’d spent working with the wardbreaking team as an Auror.

He threw the piece of toast at the wards, watching it sail through the open door with a deep frown that was bordering on a pout. Then he threw his fork. “Well… inanimate non-magical items can go through. Guess I’m too _animate_ for that.” His snort was soft.

Bellatrix moved to his side and after a moment just held out a candlestick idly.

Taking the candlestick, he chucked it out the door with a vengeance.

“What’re you doing?” Draco moved over with Blaise following him curiously. “Why are you throwing things at the wards?”

“Eliminating the types of wards this could be. So far, I've narrowed it down to either being based on magic or status as a living being, but that doesn’t tell me anything about how it’s blocking me and what its parameters are.”

Draco handed him an apple, sitting down next to him. “Parameters?”

Tossing the apple through, he hummed. “Every set of wards is like a magical math equation. If it’s supposed to block living things, then what does it count as living? Obviously not things just of organic matter. See, my testing gives me data like the apple passing though, and I change my hypothesis accordingly.” He shrugged. “Basic experimentation.”

Bellatrix handed him another candlestick and he chucked it out the door, the woman snickering. “You’re like a tiny moody version of Tobias.”

“Tobias?” That made him pause and look up with curious eyes. “Who’s that?”

“Given you have been calling me ‘Mister Snake’, your lack of knowledge for my name makes quite a bit of sense.” The Dark Lord smiled at him thinly from where he was leaning against a nearby pillar. “In fact, you haven’t asked a single name since you arrived.”

Aza hummed, turning away and chucking a rock from his backpack out the door. “Bellatrix is the crazy lady, Blaise is Draco’s friend, Draco is my new brother, Narcissa is _awesome_ , Lucius is _not_ , Snape is the exasperated professor, Fenrir is the wolfman, Nagini is my snake mom, Barty is the one with the wild eyes, Mcnair is the tall man, the Carrows are the fraternal twins that somehow still look identical, and you, Mister Snake… look more like a ‘Thomas’ to me.”

The room was silent for a moment.

“And _why_ would I look like a ‘Thomas’ to you?”

Blaise handed him a mouse, staring at him blankly when Aza sent him a bewildered look. 

Shaking his head at that, he looked down at the mouse. “That’s what the ravens were calling you and now I can’t unsee it. Therefore, you are now Mister Thomas the Snake.” He threw the mouse at the barrier, watching it fly through with a squeak only to be caught by a large raven that descended and started to eat it. “Hmm. Fascinating.”

The bird looked up at his voice, picking up the mouse in its beak and then waddling into the house to dump the tiny carcass on his eggs with a happy grawk sound.

“Yes, very good, thank you for your offerings. And for proving my new hypothesis. The wards are tied to objects then and magical ones at that.” Patting the bird’s head, he looked at Draco. “Magical object please?”

Blinking, Draco moved his shirt to take off a silver band quite like the ones he had forgotten were on his wrist.

“Oh my, Mister Snake… you’ve been a busy little bumblebee, haven’t you?” Voice a dark murmur as he studied the bands, he lobbed the band at the wards and then ducked hastily when it came flying back at him though he heard a groan of pain. When he turned, it was to see Fenrir clutching at his ‘family jewels’, cackling to himself faintly. “Wolfman, 0. Aza, 2!”

“So what’s the verdict?” Bellatrix grinned down at him.

Aza’s hummed, standing up and pacing in a small oval. “It’s restricting all magical objects- probably with this manor being the main point of focus for whatever Dumbledore is making a fool of himself trying to do, you upped your wards so that nothing incriminating or valuable could be taken out. But then the exception would have to be a spell that, if placed on the object it can pass through, as the children need sunshine eventually.” His voice was a grumble. “Not to mention, I bet there are only limitations on the children’s bracelets for certain times of the day and obviously they just have simple decorative tracking charms while I have these- these _manacles_!”

The raven made a low sound, poking at the mouse as if that would calm him down.

With a frustrated snarl, he took up the plate and tossed it too out the door, food landing on the gravel along with the plate that broke into pieces. “Meaning that because _I don’t have magic_ , I am unable to leave this place unless I am _allowed._ ” He fisted his hands in his hair as he stopped to look out the door at the far gates. “Fuck.”

“Language.”

Anyone else he would have just cursed at more, but as it was Narcissa, he muttered a faint apology as he was still frowning at the door.

A crow landed down on the path and started to peck at the food, then a second and a third. 

Then he heard the fluttering of wings.

“Oh no. Shoot shoot shoot shoot- gotta close that…” Laughing nervously, he scrambled forward with a lurch and slammed the door shut, throwing his weight against it.

The raven cackled, to which he shushed it and waved his hand in a shooing gesture.

Everything was silent for a moment. Then the door shook as something hit it with great force, his shoes sliding on the tile as he was pushed back and a long head peered through the door. Two very eager-looking peacocks looking around the door at him with wide eyes.

“Oh _no_.”

The door was pushed open further for a swarm of birds, all chittering and trying to land on him, the peacocks finally moving into the house.

Aza ran, skidding around the halls and bolting up the stairs in a flurry of adrenaline-filled limbs. “Eat Thomas! He’s a snake- you eat those, right!” He heard ‘Tobias’ say something after him but he was already gone, though to no one’s surprise his room was infested with birds for a while after that.

Aza was surprisingly good at blending into the background when he wanted to be, he just couldn’t exactly do that when every time he came within two rooms of ‘Tobias’ Thomas Snakey-man, red eyes somehow found him as if he would suddenly give up all his secrets if the man stared long enough.

_Fricking eye of Sauron._

So he just contented himself with wandering around draped in his blanket that he’d stitched buttons onto and made a small connector so it would stay around his shoulders like a cloak, being as continuously uninteresting as humanly possible. Luckily the Malfoy Library was right at his fingertips, as when he’d asked, Narcissa had told him that the library wasn’t even touched by the muggle fire though most all of Lucius’s office had been destroyed. 

Which probably had included the diary Horcrux who had assumedly returned to its host, making the Dark Lord sane enough to fight fire with cunning instead of equal fire… Because James Potter was a bloody imbecile.

As well, Snape had taken up giving him lessons on the subjects of magic because he was technically two years behind and he wasn’t about to tell anyone that he’d had to go through rigorous Auror training that included the basic certification of potions, healing, charms, defensive spells, and transfiguration. 

A glass cup was set down before him. “Turn this into a bird.”

Aza looked at Snape incredulously. “This is what you have driven yourself to? You are so convinced that I have to have magic you’re now just telling me to do something I can’t?”

“Tch.” The man scowled, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. “Then tell me how a magical individual, such as yourself, would turn it into a bird.”

“Imagine the glass shuddering and then molding itself into something malleable that my magic- _if I had any_ \- would shape into a bird before willing the glass into becoming something living.” With an idea, he drew up a part of his blanket and then put it over the glass, swirling his hands over the lump, snapping and pulling the fabric away to reveal a stunned crow. “ _Magic_.”

Snape’s eyes lit with unholy glee. “I knew it!”

There were slow almost mocking claps from the doorway, ‘Tobias’ smirking at him when he looked up. “So, then, you _do_ have magic. How did you hide it?”

“Distraction and a big blanket.” He smiled serenely as he pulled the glass back out of where he’d been holding it, setting it beside the bird. “And though I’m glad you like my sleight of hand, I’m not sure it counts as magic.” With a smile, he took his book and then walked back out. “I have a date with the library, excuse me.”

There was a soft noise of frustration behind him. “Then where the hell did the bird come from!”

He wheezed softly and urged his summoned Raven to fly around until it had a place to hide before disappearing, hearing the two men trying to catch it. Narcissa would not be amused with their trampling around and he was thoroughly excited for that hissed lecture at dinner.

Blaise and Draco were more than willing to put up with his occasional antics though they seemed to be more comfortable when they were joined by Theodore Nott, as the wiry boy could talk about books for days and distracted Aza from any mischief he started to plot every time someone mentioned his magic.

Aza was delighted when Daphne and Millicent showed up with Pansy, eyeing him the same way Theo had done but seeming to accept his general presence after he and Theo got off onto a side-tangent about how to best conceal a murder.

(Though he wasn’t quite sure how they’d gotten there from talking about muggle space efforts. Something about international waters and then… oh, okay that made more sense.)

Next to add onto their little circle of snakes were Crabbe and Goyle, both of who he knew were smarter than they let on, as Vincent had a particular gift for music (and a lovely baritone voice) while Gregory could out-box anything that tried to square up to him. He had an exceptional time training with Greg, the boy helping him to get back on his boxing while he taught the larger boy stretches that would help for long training sessions. Often enough he’d end up flat on the mats as Draco and Blaise snickered in the background, as the boy was also a talented wrestler, but Greg was always very polite and helped him up- after he dramatically lamented his fate as a pancake, of course.

Though one thing he did not like about these particular snakes were their parents.

Theo’s grandfather and Pansy’s father especially, as their presence seemed to make the others clam up faster than an actual clam, so Aza often found him staring down either of the men coldly when they came near their little group. He’d taken a liking to these snakes in his past life as they all had shown to be wonderful people under the years of abuse and indoctrinated ideals of blood-purity, which meant he would fight anyone who tried to touch them.

They were _his_ snakes. 

_Hiss hiss bitch_.

“Azarias.”

Looking up from where he was currently swamped in his blanket, reading a horror story that Millicent had given him _because she was a demon and why was he reading this_ , he peered at ‘Tobias’ with eyes that were probably as wide as saucers. He probably looked like a spooked cat, but he didn’t care. “Thomas the Extraordinary Snakeman? You have great timing.” He held out the book. “Please burn this so I don’t have to?”

Millicent and Pansy stifled laughter.

Frowning and taking the book from him, the man flipped it over to read the back before raising his eyebrows. “And _why_ are you reading about the… _zombie apocalypse_ if it makes you so skittish?”

“It’s a good book, well except for the fact it’s really graphic and I really don’t want to have to think about someone’s throat getting torn open right now?” His voice trembled slightly, seeing Fenrir leaning over Lavender Brown’s body when he closed his eyes. Making a soft wounded sound and burrowing further into the blanket, he shook his head. “Probably should’ve stopped when they got to the woods but… Burn it?” His voice was a whisper, not really knowing what else to do.

With a look at the book, the man then tossed it into the nearby empty fireplace not even looking over as fire sprang to being and caught the book on fire. ‘Tobias’ crossed his arms. “There. It is burning. Will you stop looking so…” He waved a hand at Aza as if lost for the right words. “ _Pitiful_?”

Aza stared at him. “Why?”

“Because I came in here to ask you why two grown men are afraid to see their children when you’re around and you look like you’ve been enveloped by- by _fuzz_! Now stop with the eyes- I find them personally offensive- and look like you’re able to scare two grown men already!”

Blinking slowly, he tilted his head. “I think that was a roundabout way of telling me that I’m too cute to be scary in your opinion, but sure.” Taking a deep breath and shaking his head like an echaskech to clear the memories from it, he sat up straighter, giving the man a haughty look. “Better?”

‘Tobias’ scowled at him. “For the record, you are an irritant and only kept around because your continued existence entertains me, not because I find you _‘cute’_ or whatever other nonsense you invent in that labyrinth you call a brain.” Then looking at him just as haughtily, the man studied him for a moment. “Now that you are not acting like a child- tell me how you made those two afraid of you.”

Twisting sideways on the chair, he hung his legs over the side and laid back to look up at the ceiling. "I’ll tell you if I can leave the manor.”

“No.”

“I want to see the sun! I’m going to have vitamin D deficiencies! My fingernails and hair will fall out and I’ll become a walking skeleton! My skin will turn the color of chalk and my eyeballs will shrink and eventually I’ll _die_!”

The man scoffed. “Stop being ridiculous. Nothing of the sort will happen.”

Aza smiled faintly. “Well, it was worth a try.”

‘Tobias’ just stared at him, unamused.

“I’ll tell you... in trade for one hour outside supervised each day. Surely you know that these,” he held up his wrists so the sleeves of his button-up slipped down to show off the gold bands, “have trackers in them because you made them… so even if I do run away what’s the issue? Just drag me back here kicking and screaming, as you seemed to find that entertaining _last time_.”

The man frowned.

Aza looked at him with his best puppy dog eyes. “ _Please_ , Thomas?”

“An hour.” It sounded like it was painful to say, the man scowling deeply. “And Fenrir will drag you back by your hair if you even _think_ about running.”

Wiggling around like a happy slug as he hissed a ‘yes!’ excitedly before pulling himself off the chair in a fumble of limbs to look at the man with a smile. “You know how scary Narcissa gets when anyone even looks at Draco?” When ‘Tobias’ tilted his head but nodded faintly, Aza grinned. “Well these are my snakes and I would rip open the ribcage of whoever tried to hurt them and eat their heart. I just communicate that willingness though glares when I want to.”

The man blinked. “I see....”

“Though you should know the feeling, as you do the same thing when you see the Carrows start to glare at me.” With a soft laugh at the surprise momentarily lingering in the man’s eyes, he bounded out of the room. Passing Fenrir and waving at him, he found Narcissa in the main room, holding out his wrists. “Thomas said I could go outside for an hour if the wolfman goes with me!”

The woman smiled and tapped his wrists with her wand. “Very good then. Have fun!”

Nodding in excitement, he took off towards the back door, skidding past the Carrows and throwing open the front door. “FREEDOM!”

“ _Azarias…_ ”

Cackling and taking off, he threw his blanket cape at a nearby bench and ran a lap around the manor before playing hide and seek with Fenrir in the maze (meaning he hid until the wolf was too close before taking off and hiding again). Eventually, Fenrir found him lying face down in the grass, shirt tossed off to the side as he soaked up all the sun he could.

The man sat down next to him. “What’re you doing, kid?”

“Not a kid.” His voice was muffled. “And I am _photosynthesizing_.”

“Plants don’t usually have so much energy.” He could tell by the tone of voice that ‘Tobias’ was folding his arms and probably frowning down at him.

Aza snorted. “Don’t you have better things to do than corral me?” He turned his head to the side, looking out at the grass. “I didn’t run away. You’re welcome. Now, will you stop hovering like you’re auditioning for the role of a bloodthirsty vampire following around a walking blood bag? I’m not particularly interested in being eaten alive right now.”

Two Italian leather shoes stopped right by his outstretched arm, crouching down so he could just barely see two blood-red eyes. “And what else should I be doing, in your opinion, rather than making sure that the current object of my curiosity is not going to disappear should I turn around too long?”

“Ignoring that was a highly patronizing and objectifying way to say that you find me interesting, you could be doing a ton of things. Making a better system of finding magical children that live in abusive households, creating universal healthcare, giving children some sort of primary school before Hogwarts, writing a book about what muggle-borns need to know about the wizarding world so they don’t offend anyone, making the adoption system easier for more than just wealthy lords, legalizing occlumency, promoting mind-healing as an actual job, etcetera, etcetera, _etcetera_.” 

The red eyes peered at him. “For a muggle-raised boy with no magical education, you seem to know a lot about the magical world.”

“I read a lot.” Aza turned his face back to the grass. “And you’re obsessing again.”

With a scoff, the man stood. “Fine, but you are not off the hook.” There was the sound of shoes padding away. “And your hour is two minutes from being up.”

Normally he would have dragged himself up with a pout while lamenting his fate dramatically, but he did so this time without complaint, shooting a small grin at Fenrir as he scooped up his shirt and blanket. 

_It seemed the eye of Sauron had moved on._

_...hopefully._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I've seen some questions,  
> Azarias is Harry Potter (from the original universe) reincarnated into the body of an unplanned twin of this world's Harry Potter, though his presence was enough to mess with the loom of fate, meaning this world's Harry Potter is going to have a totally different set of experiences from what he had- starting with the fact both his parents are alive and the Order is considered a sort of militia/terrorist group by the Ministry  
> ^-^  
> Also, since Aza is a little shit and I tend to write in third-person limited omniscient point of view, Tom is going to be called Tobias (given that's his legal name) everywhere except when Aza's talking about or to him, but it's always going to be in single quotation marks so a sarcastic tone is implied  
> A cursed example for your emtertainment: 'Tobias' = yandere eye of Sauron


	3. Name me after a warrior so I may choose to come in peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends and happy random November day to all of my other friends!  
> Have a chapter! It's a gift!

With no Tom hovering around him with watchful eyes, he was able to blend further into the background as if Death’s cloak was just faintly laying over his shoulders- staying up late in the library and making forays into the kitchen to get his fix of coffee in the mornings.

Fenrir had taken up running laps with him in the mornings, the man seeming almost more centered and less feral with every day that passed, laughing loudly whenever they had to run from the peacocks that had decided he was the prettiest thing they’d ever seen. He was more terrified of the peacocks than he had been waking up at the end of Thomas’s wand when his skin itched with the familiar magic-testing spell, as at least the man had only hummed and walked out. (Plus Narcissa had lectured Thomas about personal space when that had happened and the woman seemed to find the peacock situation more amusing than anything.)

But by the time he knew it, almost a month had passed.

“Azarias!”

He blinked out of his distraction, having been thinking about the different types of blood magic based on a book he’d been reading earlier. “Sorry, what?”

“We’re going to Diagon Alley.” Narcissa straightened the nice but simple robes that he’d been made to wear. “It’s the biggest magical market in Britain and also where you’re going to get all your Hogwarts supplies for the year.”

Aza nodded slowly. “Yeah, uh, that’s… why am I going to Hogwarts? I was signed up to take my GCSE’s and- and public school would be fine!”

Narcissa looked taken aback by that. “Azarias Malfoy, you are not going to some muggle public school! Now get on those shoes and come downstairs!” Huffing slightly, the woman shook her head and then walked out.

Making a face and then getting on the shoes that apparently used to be Draco’s- _the_ ** _only_** _advantage of being tiny_ \- he got out the jar of pounds he’d hidden and tucked the money into the inner jacket pocket of the blazer that Narssica laid out for him, slinging it over his shoulder and then starting down the stairs. His thoughts were elsewhere- _what would he do about Olivanders? Would the other Harry get his Holly wand? Should he even go near the goblins and risk any titles showing up unannounced? Or perhaps he shouldn’t even go into the bank- or would that look suspicious?_

A hand grabbed his upper arm, ‘Tobias’ looked down at him with piercing red eyes. “You’re distracted, Azarias.”

“Thinking.” Pausing, he started to put his outer jacket on, stilling when the man stopped him with a sigh and a frown. “ _What_?”

“It’s summer. Jackets, if worn, are to drape over your shoulders as more of a decoration than anything.” ‘Tobias’ efficiently slid his arm from the jacket and then draped it over his shoulders, then moved to roll up the sleeves of his dress shirt. “Hopeless, really.”

Aza arched an eyebrow. “You’re wearing a jacket. As well as gloves. Are you going to burst on fire when the sun touches you? You have such a pale complexion, like paper, are we sure you aren’t a vampire?”

‘Tobias’ smirked. “Yes, though that doesn’t mean I don’t have fangs.”

“Snakes often do.” He said idly, pulling back his hands and tugging at the sleeves lightly. “My thanks either way. I have only one sense of fashion and it's definitely not related to fancy clothes.” When he saw Daphne raise an eyebrow, he smirked at her toothily. “I will forever be at my best in street clothes.”

The girl raised a thin eyebrow. “That isn’t fashion.”

Aza huffed softly. “If you say so, Miss Fashionista, then it _must_ be true.” He looked at Narcissa. “Are we taking a bus? I miss the knight bus and I’m sure-”

“Malfoys do not take the _knight bus._ ” Lucius looked at him with thinly concealed disdain. “We are taking the floo.”

With a soft groan of pain, he leaned on Draco dramatically. “My worst enemy, the floo... When it spits me out so hard I go through a wall, just- I ask that you remember me kindly, little brother”

Blaise nodded solemnly. “We’ll feed you to the peacocks.”

Narcissa cut off his cry of outrage by clearing her throat, even if her eyes were amused. “Tobias, if you will go first, I will follow and then the children.”

“Very well.” ‘Tobias’ stepped through calmly as if it was child’s play.

_ This was why he still thought of the man as his most loathed nemesis outside Dumbledore. _

Narcissa stepped through and then Lucius poked him with his cane as if he was a drowned raccoon the man was trying to see was actually dead. “You first, Azarias. And do not cause a scene today or there will be punishments.”

Sighing and stepping through the floo easily, he felt the building pressure, grimacing as he was flung out of the floo in a way that left him barely able to keep on his feet as he stumbled forward. A pair of arms catching him just before he would have fallen on his face, he blinked slowly while trying to stop his head from spinning, glad for how ‘Tobias’ helped him stand up straight. “Ugh. Floos. They have it out for me.” Holding his head, he felt one of the gloved hands straighten the jacket on his shoulders before the man stepped back. “Thanks.”

The man just hummed. “Those that have such a hard time with floo travel are usually those with an exponential amount of magical power and even then it takes years to fully control the wild magic’s reaction to your own magic.”

“I don’t have magic.” He still felt the telltale warmth of the magic-checking spell, sighing deeply.

_Paranoid bastard._

“Come on, Aza.” Draco took his hand, pulling him away from them. “I’ll show you how to get into the Alley.”

Blaise and Daphne caught up with them and the girl wound her arm in Aza’s other free one, as the others were with their own families for the day, Blaise walking on her other side with his hands in his pockets. 

“You have magic.” Blaise’s voice was soft, barely a murmur. “Your eyes flash when you get really mad, like that time when Pansy was talking ill of Tracy Davis and called her a worse name for a muggle-born.”

Aza tensed.

“I wasn’t there, so I wouldn’t know.” Draco looked away, not saying anything.

Blaise gave him a faint smile. “Might have been the light though.”

“It probably was.” Daphne was too busy brushing out her skit, seeming unaffected by the whole thing. “But if you did have magic, Aza, I doubt it would really change anything."

He relaxed and smiled back faintly, thankful for his friends.

Walking with the two boys and studying the shops curiously, wondering if he could spot any differences from the Diagon Alley he knew, his breath caught in his throat as his eyes found a small boy that had a camera in his hands and a Gryffindor scarf on. Then the crowd shifted and Colin Creevy was gone- only instead of his hallucinations after the war, this was real, reappearing in the crowd a moment later.

Aza heard a bright laugh and he looked over to see a younger Cedric Diggory was talking with his friends, Lavender Brown walking past him talking with Parvati Pattell cheerfully, seeming almost to be a dream with how much it threw his brain into a spiral of something confused and yet viscerally _hopefull._

Though it came to a head when Aza ripped his arms away from the boys and started to shove his way through the crowd at seeing a familiar girl, pulling Luna Lovegood into his arms as his hands shook, breaths unsteady. “ _Luna_.”

“Oh, hello.” Putting her hands up and patting his back lightly, the girl’s voice was soft. “I did not think I would be attacked via hug today, but I guess there is a first time for everything.”

Pulling back almost immediately, he smiled sheepishly. “I-... sorry.”

“It’s alright. I don’t mind being hugged.” The girl’s smile was soft as she reached out and took his hand. “Are you alright, Azarias?”

His eyes widened, looking up with hope blooming in his chest. “You remember?”

Luna shook her head just slightly, brushing his hair out of his face. “I often have dreams of another self of mine... but it was more that I felt the ripple of magic when your uncle killed you.”

Aza blinked and then had the strongest urge to curse through all the profanities he knew. _Of course it would be when he was dying on the floor that his magic wouldn't be covered._ Putting his head in his hands, he pushed his hair back in aggravation. “Well… that explains how they found me. Do you- uh- recommend I go into Gringotts?”

“Oh, most definitely.” Luna then smiled at him fondly. “Now I have to get back to daddy, but be safe, angel.” Patting his hand, she slipped into the crowd easily.

“Angel?” And the Eye of Sauron once again loomed over him.

He nodded, watching the blonde head skip off. “She’s an old friend. I thought I wouldn’t see her again.” Shaking his head, he waved his hand. “Azarias was the name that the archangel Raphael gave when he came down to the earth. I hate Lily Potter for her blatant lack of care, but I admit the name isn’t horrible.”

‘Tobias’ settled a hand on his shoulder, steering him towards Gringotts. “Well then, _angel_ , I will remind you that the bands you wear can track you and any other ‘old friends’ you see can be met without running off.”

_Fuckhead._

Aza just rolled his eyes. “ _Can_ , not _will._ I rather think I like giving you heart palpitations.”

“I have no such reaction, as when I pick your brain apart I will be more than happy to drop you in the middle of an abandoned stretch of woods to be eaten by a pack of wolves, but for now you are my puzzle and I will not have that jeopardized for some silly _girl._ ”

“Obsessive, possessive, _and_ jealous? You’re practically a walking red flag, Thomas.”

The man’s hand tightened on his shoulder. “Every time you open your mouth that urge to strangle you goes up significantly today.” Pushing him towards the Malfoys, the man’s voice was a hiss. “Behave.”

Walking up to a different teller, he bowed with his hand over his heart before straightening with a toothy grin. “Good morning, Master Goblin. I would like to take a comprehensive inheritance test?”

“I will need a name to identify you, Master Wizard, as you should well know.” The teller grinned back but it was chiding.

Aza looked at the goblin seriously. “Blood tells more than words, Master Goblin, and mine speaks volumes.” When the goblin slowly slid a curved ritual knife his way and then a rune-lined paper, he dipped his head and nicked his wrist. Letting seven drops fall to the paper, he licked the blood of the knife and then slid it back to the teller, putting his wrist in his mouth.

Drawing the paper up to look it over, he watched the goblin’s eyebrows rise before folding the paper and bowing lowly. “Master Goblin Friend, I am Mordred and I would be happy to assist you with whatever you need today.”

“Thank you, my friend. May I speak to my estate manager?” When the goblin looked at him questioningly, he smiled sharply. “The Ancient.”

Taking a slow breath, the goblin nodded and started hesitantly towards the tunnels, voice a mutter as he did. “Yes- I- yes, I will go… go get the Ancient… oh gods have mercy...” 

He suppressed a small giggle, looking down at his shoes and fiddling with his rolled-up sleeves. Looking up, he found the group watching him and smiled sheepishly. “Did I mention that the goblins love me? Or they’re terrified... I honestly can’t tell anymore.” He shrugged. “Don’t worry, Kuzo is wonderful and will get everything sorted for me.”

Looking up at the ceiling while he hummed a song he couldn’t remember the name of, he heard the loud echoes of a cane on the stone floor, a war-torn goblin with a lopsided grin moving to the dividers between the teller booths and stepping through. Jabbing Aza with his staff, the goblin snarled. “Twelve years! I’ve been waiting twelve years but no, you can’t even stop by to see me!” Poking him again, the goblin ancient growled lowly. “Well, what do you have to say for yourself, boy? And that ridiculous note I get that you’re out there living with those horrible muggles, damn near killing yourself for the fun of it?!”

“Kuziathan, old man, you’re looking good.” He smiled innocently. “So… are you up for some therapeutic money handling or should I just steal another dragon?”

Cursing in gobbledygook and jabbing him again, the goblin waved his hand at him sharply. “Come on. We will see your titles returned to their proper places, damned _Dragon Thief._ ”

Laughing brightly, he followed the goblin with a skip in his step. “I actually happen to like that title- also I have the urge to give the Gryffindor thing to McGonagall. That sounds fun.”

The goblin shook his head. “You will be the death of me.”

“Well, I mean, aren’t you semi-immortal?”

“THAT DOESN'T KEEP ME FROM _WORRYING_!”

Aza grinned sheepishly, scratching at his head. “Sorry. I was, uh, trying to stay away from the magical world. You know, give myself a break? Some R&R?”

Kuzo made a loud aggravated sigh and then pushed open the door to The Office, waving him in. 

The thing with goblins was that they were universally trusted and aside from turning a profit, everyone could agree that goblins were the best at keeping things like money in order. Hence why the Ancients existed. Fate used the Ancients as sort of the… scorekeepers of life. They counted souls, organized the stings of Fate’s loom, and occasionally babysat troublesome immortals (Read: him).

Meaning by the time he stepped out of the office, instead of the hundred or so titles he’d acquired after the war that had carried over with his soul, he had a single ring on his finger made of pitch-black stone.

Even as they’d spent about three hours doing the organizing and approving his plans with fate, when he checked the clock, he found only about ten minutes had passed outside in the real world. Releasing a yawn and leaning against The Office door, he held out a hand to the Ancient. “Time well spent. And as always I hope that you’re well until I stop by again.”

“Be it a decade or three minutes, you’re always welcome in The Office.” Slapping his hand and then giving him a fist-bump, the goblin grinned. “Be well, Tiny Lord.”

“I’m not _that_ short!” When the goblin laughed and ignored him, he slid his jacket on for good and then walked back to the teller’s booth. “Mordred. May I try the whole ‘inheritance test’ thing again now?”

The goblin smiled as nicely as a goblin could. “Of course." A dagger and another rune sheet were pushed towards him.

“Thanks.”

Doing the test again, he hummed the jeopardy theme song as he waited for it to be approved by the goblin. Handed the test, he looked at it curiously. “Mhmm. Sperm and egg donors, blood adopted parents, no lordships because you can’t have those without magic... One title and that’s Dragon Thief because _goals_ … and, uh, oh! I’m officially a squib! Nice! And of course, my emancipation.” He snickered at the date on the emancipation, nodding. “Well, it looks good!”

Before he could hand it back, ‘Tobias’ snagged it, looking at it with furrowed eyebrows before looking at the goblin with narrowed eyes. “This is wrong. It’s been altered. This- this _boy_ is nowhere _near_ a squib!”

Mordred’s eyes darkened. “Are you accusing the bank of something, sir?”

Laughing nervously, he snagged the parchment back. “No, no, he’s just surprised. And rightfully so, as they have this weird idea that I’m somehow hiding my magic- I mean, that’s just ridiculous. He means no offense, Master Mordred.” Handing in the test, he smiled brightly. “Have a lovely day and don’t let the humans get you down, my friend.”

“The same to you, little Lord.” 

Hooking arms with _Thomas,_ he pulled the man towards the door. “Talk about obsessiveness- but that was plain stupid! Blood doesn’t lie and the goblins sure as all hell don’t cheat their tests. In fact, I don’t think they could if they tried!” Shaking his head tiredly, he huffed. “Just accept that I’m never going to tell you all my secrets, Thomas, because if you keep acting like I’m something you can tug around on a leash then I will go straight back into that building to have my friends remove these bracelets and then get me to a random international floo.”

The man hissed lowly like a wounded snake. “You can’t.”

“Emancipated, remember?”

‘Tobias’ was silent for a moment more before looking at him with unreadable eyes. “I don’t... _want_ you to leave.”

Aza looked at the man that he knew had the same sort of lost background as him, knowing as well that his luck would make him Dark Lord catnip, and just nodded. “That’s a start. And if I really intended to go anywhere, I would have just taken a hammer to these flimsy bracelets.” Seeing the faint glint in the man’s eyes, he flicked the taller shoulder again. “Be glad I’m more afraid of Dumbledore than I ever will be of you… at least you’re upfront about wanting to kill me.”

“Azarias,” Narcissa caught up to them in a swish of her skirt, pulling him into her arms out of nowhere. 

Catching himself before he could stiffen, he put his hands up to rest on her back, face squished into her arm. “Not that I don’t like hugs, as I am essentially starved for positive touch… but what’s the occasion?”

“You’re my son now.” She pulled back and put her hands on his shoulders, looking at him. “Even if you don’t look like one, you’re a Malfoy now, alright?”

He blinked slowly. “If this is about the emancipation, I just told Thomas I’m not going anywhere. As mildly put-out as I am by the _confinement devices_ , I actually like it at the Manor when Sauron over there isn’t staring me down like he’s about to take a bite out of me. I _like_ having an actual family.” His smile was small and fond. “Plus, the emancipation was mostly to keep me out of Dumbledore’s hands and with the blood adoption he can’t use the Potters against me anyway.”

‘Tobias’ picked at his nails, as if bored. “Then you should let the Malfoys be your Magical Guardians- give up your emancipation.”

Aza looked at the man flatly. “And give you more power over me? No thanks, snake-man.” Rolling his eyes, he moved to sling an arm over Draco’s shoulder. “Anyway. Long story short, I am a squib Malfoy with black hair, and I’m here to stay.”

Lucius looked like he’d been force-fed lemon juice.

“Not a squib.” 

“Am too.” He shot back at ‘Tobias’ who had muttered the words petulantly.

“Are not.”

He crossed his arms. “Am too.” 

“Boys!” Narcissa’s stern tone had them both shutting up, looking at them with a smile hiding between her pursed lips. “If your spat is over, I was going to suggest that Tobias take you to get your wand as you need one by rule of the Hogwarts guidelines, Aza.”

‘Tobias’ eyes lit with a glint, voice almost a purr when he spoke up. “Oh, of course, Narcissa. A _wonderful_ idea indeed. We will meet you at the robe shop afterward, yes?” Then before the woman could answer, the man was taking his hand and starting to pull him away.

Aza made a face but let himself be dragged along. “I don’t want a wand.”

The man’s grin was sharp and delighted. “And yet if you get one, it will prove that you are not some foolish squib and I will not have to bother with the outdated laws about those of magical blood that don’t have magic.” Pulling the door to Ollivander’s open with a jungle of a bell, the man huffed at his obvious surprise. “Getting you into Hogwarts was tedious but necessary to prove that you are worth my time instead of being some mundane brat. Now step inside the shop, Azarias.”

Still processing those words, he stepped inside with a soft hum. “Well… _good_. Squibs need more protection in magical society and I am happy to be the cause of that change, even if however unintentional.”

“It is a waste of my time.” The man crossed his arms and looked away, leaning against the wall as the door swung shut.

“Then you wouldn’t have done it.” His voice was a mutter, even knowing it was true, and he moved into the shop further to look around. Tapping his fingers against the wood of the desk, he hummed softly. “Hello, Garrack.”

White hair sticking up like a mad scientist, the man melted from the bookshelves and moved behind the counter across from him, eyes hazy. “Azarias Malfoy is the name the wards given to me… and yet I feel as if I have met you with a different name.”

“Potter.”

The man gave an ‘ah’ sound softly. “Yes… I remember Albus coming to me trying to get a specific wand for your twin, though it seemed to be repulsed by the very idea of the boy. It seemed to be an event of great shock for Albus indeed.”

Aza snorted. “I bet he thinks he took the wrong twin even if I was still developing lungs when whatever happened that October happened.” He leaned his hip against the counter and rubbed his face. “Even if I could be in two places at once, I both refuse to be whatever ‘Chosen One’ Dumbledore came up with nor do I have any magic to be such.”

Ollivander didn’t even blink. “I fear that I will not have a wand that will fit you then. And anyway, the wand that Albus wanted seemed to have a mind of its own and has already picked its owner.”

“You have been in contact with Albus Dumbledore?” ‘Tobias’ stepped forward dangerously, hands curling over Aza’s shoulders as if talons of a raptor digging into a mouse. Except for the fact that Aza was fairly willing prey as he just ignored the gloved hands.

“I have already reported the instance I am speaking of, as it happened almost two years ago when the youngest Potter was turning eleven.”

Aza blinked slowly. “I am suddenly immensely grateful for Snape showing up when he did- I bet that Dumbledore would have acted on whatever plans he was making to kidnap me had my existence been kept unknown, as he had two years for whatever doubts he had about my twin to fester.” 

The gloved fingers tightened on his shoulders even more. 

Reaching up, he flicked the man’s wrist. “Either release me or loosen your grip. That’s starting to hurt.”

The fingers loosened slowly, the man taking a moment to flex his hands and curl them into fists for a moment before settling back on his shoulders. ‘Tobias’ spoke in a low murmur. “My apologies.”

“It's fine.” Relaxing back into the comforting weight, he looked at Ollivander. “One question- did he specifically mention anything pertaining to the so-called ‘Boy-Who-Lived’ when he got upset?”

Olivander nodded faintly, glancing up at Tom before looking solemnly at him. “He mentioned a second prophecy- one he had disregarded until recently. A prophecy that foretold a set of twins- a pauper destined for empty riches unless he broke the hold of the Light Lord and the Prince destined for death before his time unless the weaver strengthened his thread.”

Tom hissed lowly, pulling Aza back as if a vicious snake curling protectively around the small baby animal it had found and considered to be theirs. (In fact, that was probably exactly what had happened.) “Death before his time? What does that mean? And who is this _weaver_?”

“Fate.” His voice was bland, even if he tilted his head back to peer up at the man. “It means that I’m bound to die unless Fate decides that I’m worth it… which is unlikely, but whatever.” He left out the part where he was sure his part of the prophecy was already completed.

“And that does not worry you in the slightest?”

Aza shrugged. “Not in the slightest.”

Peering at him a second longer, eyes gleaming red in the light, the man positioned his head back up straight and then huffed. “Come then, Azarias. If there is no wand for you here then there is no point wasting time when you need proper robes.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Malfoy.” Ollivander held out a hand to him.

Taking it, he felt the man pat the side of his shoulder and an object drop into the pocket of his jacket, smiling. “You as well, Mr. Ollivander.” Then with what he knew was his shrunken Holly wand sitting in his pocket, he walked from the building after ‘Tobias’ who was already muttering to himself about what a ‘travesty’ he was as a gloved hand curled around his own.

He just smiled to himself and swung their arms as they walked.

Meeting the others at Twilfit and Tattings, he bounced over to where Draco was standing. “Are you going to get new robes too?”

Blaise ruffled his hair as if he was a small puppy. “You’re adorable, Aza. They have our measurements on file and update them when necessary. It’s hardly necessary to go in and try things on tediously. We were just waiting for you, as our books were prepared for pick-up.”

“This must be the new client.” An older woman with stern eyes looked at him from a desk, then looked to Narcissa. “The name for the file?”

“Azarias Malfoy.”

Nodding, even as a younger man by her side with the shop’s smart-looking uniform looked at Aza with studying eyes, the older woman waved her hand. “Geoffry, will you take care of young Azarias?”

Stepping forward, the man paused when a hand settled on Aza’s shoulder again, ‘Tobias’ stepping forward. “And where are the fitting rooms?”

Both shop workers were still for a moment before the woman pointed a shaking hand down a small hall, obviously recognizing who ‘Tobias’ really was. “The first door to the left is open, Lord Slytherin. Please, our amenities are at your disposal.”

“Azarias.” Stalking down the hall, ‘Tobias’ opened the door, raising an eyebrow at him.

With a faint smile, he followed the man, leaning against the wall as the door to the room was shut behind them. “How terrifying people think you are is eternally amusing, but are _you_ going to take my measurements?” When the man paused, he laughed softly. “You really didn’t think this through.”

“That urge to strangle you is back.” Muttering this, he pulled the jacket from Aza’s shoulders and stepped back out into the hall with it held tightly in his hand. “You may now enter, though I would prefer to be present.”

The young man entered with a cautious glance at Tom, standing a bit awkwardly as the three of them were shut in the small room together. “Mr. Malfoy. To get the best measurements and fit it is the usual practice of the shop to get measurements of our clients while disrobed- excluding underclothes but including shoes. If you could stand on the platform?”

Before ‘Tobias’ could make any stupid overbearing comments, he nodded and kicked off his shoes, moving to the platform. “Alright.” Undoing his shirt and throwing it over the nearby chair, he stepped out of his trousers as well. “Socks?”

“Can stay.” 

_No Deathly Hallows symbol in sight… meaning it was either on his ankle… or his ass._

Aza giggled softly to himself at that thought, shaking his head when the man looked at him from where he was carefully measuring his waist. “Ticklish.” His lips pressed together as he held up his arms, letting the tailor move and take measurements while a quick-notes quill was jotting down numbers. Keeping an eye on the quill, as he’d long been able to tell what was being written just by the stroke of the feather to evade the media, the man finally backed up. 

Glancing at ‘Tobias’, the man dipped his head. “Very good, sirs. I will leave you to dress.” Not even staying long enough for Aza to thank the man, he scrambled out hastily.

“Well, that was significantly less tedious than trying on a million different pieces of clothing, though no doubt Daphne and Pansy will still drag me to do as such eventually.” Dressing, he sent the corner of brooding energy a curious look. “What?”

“You have an interesting amount of scars.”

Aza’s nose twitched slightly, slipping his shirt back on. “They’re birthmarks.”

“This,” a gloved finger jabbed his shoulder where a thin white line was, “is too thin and precise to be anything but a stab wound. Do not _lie_ to me.”

Staring at the man and pulling the gloved hand away from his skin, he finished buttoning up his shirt, adjusting the collar before grabbing the jacket from the man’s hands. “My past is not a book for you to read- if I do not wish to tell you, then I won’t.” Shrugging on the jacket uncaring of whatever advice, he let himself out of the room and ducked the hand he felt reaching for him, moving to grab Draco’s hand. “We’re going to look at the animals, mum.”

Narcissa blinked with wide eyes. “Al-alright, dearest.”

He was out the door and into the crowd before ‘Tobias’ could say anything, Blaise catching up as they pushed open the door to the Menagerie. “Something wrong, Aza?”

“Other than Thomas asking stupid questions like usual? Not necessarily.” Wandering into the store, he made sure to avoid the snakes and birds, scanning the tanks and cages of the other animals. He could see Blaise and Draco looking at each other, but didn’t care, crouching down to look in a small kennel.

“Oh, kid, I wouldn’t go near that beast.” A girl with bright blue hair made a face as she stopped by them as the bell on the door chimed with sound. “Bloody thing practically tore another girl’s hand off the other day. It’s feral- someone found it in a gutter, and it doesn’t have an ounce of magic in it.”

A tiny black ball of fur hissed at him, green eyes luminous in the dim lighting.

“Perfect.” Unlocking the cage and slowly sticking his hand in, he felt claws dig into his hand along with tiny knife-like teeth that chewed up his fingers. Slowly taking the cat around its middle and ignoring its low growling, he brought it out of the cage and held it to his chest. “Shhh… it’s okay. I got you and I’m not letting go. It’s okay if you scratch me to shreds or bite me all you want, I’ve had worse and I’m not going to punish you for being afraid.”

The cat backed up to the edge of his hands, looking at him with wary eyes and meowing softly.

Aza chuckled softly. “I probably do smell like a wolf, as there is one living at the manor. But the better question is what I taste like. You would know- you chewed up my hand pretty badly.”

Murrping, the cat remorsefully licked the side of his hand where it had bitten him.

“Catnip. Well, that’s apt.” Cradling the small kitten, he stood back up and smiled at it in amusement. “I do tend to be a magnet for danger. And anything that eats meat.”

The tiny cat sneezed.

“Oh hush, you. I am firmly of the stance that I am bad for digestion.” He pouted when the cat slowly put his finger in its mouth to nibble on it like a fuzzy piranha. “I’m naming you Mal.”

The cat just kept chewing on his finger as he turned around.

Draco and Blaise stopped whispering to each other when he looked at them, trying to look innocent, but Narcissa was more than happy to speak up. “Is it house-trained, darling?”

Mal looked up at him with a soft rumble.

“Course. I’ll let you out if you come to find me.” He nodded at Narcissa. “Can I get her?”

“That is exactly what we need- _another_ irritable pest in the manor.”

Narcissa ignored ‘Tobias’, smiling at him softly. “Of course, dear.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :) I have no words, only pterodactyl noises :)


	4. Name me after a saint and let me mind the sinners

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, yes, I am alive :}

Hugging Narcissa and nodding to Lucius cooly, he hooked arms with Draco as they followed the others through the floo after Miss Greengrass. The parents had mostly stayed back except for a few of the moms and he hadn’t seen hide or hair of ‘Tobias’ all morning. With Mal curled up in the pocket of his favorite oversized sweater, he walked with Draco through the floo, as they’d found it was better with a partner to keep him from breaking anything.

Kings Cross always reminded him of dying and he looked around silently, studying the walls that held far more color than he remembered, almost grateful for the sheer amount of people around him as they reminded him of where he was.

“Hey, Aza!” A girl with a soft smile bounced over, holding her arms open as if him wanting a hug was even a question. 

“Luna.” Curling the small girl into his arms, he hugged her close, resting his chin on the crown of her head. “How is Xeno? Is he still running the Quibbler? And you’re in Ravenclaw? I hope that you’re not too lonely without the Weasleys around- I heard they were friends with you.”

The girl shrugged, holding onto him just as tight. “They left a while ago. I’ve been waiting for you to come to Hogwarts, as then I’ll have a friend with me who will listen to me about the nargles!”

“Of course. I’ll punch all the nargles that try to mess with you, moondust.”

Giggling, the girl pulled back and then messed up his hair with a bright smile. “Your snake is glaring at me.”

Finally feeling a presence looming over him, he sighed. “Ignore him. I’ve been good and I deserve to have my hair played with." Moving forward so he could flop on her like a wet towel again, he smiled as she giggled. “I am an octopus and I have this many arms for a reason. That reason being hugs.”

Luna ran her hands through his hair. “I have to go say goodbye to daddy.”

“I take mental damage every time you call him that, I hope you know.” Smiling wryly when she laughed and ducked his arms, he watched her slip away into the crowd before turning to look at ‘Tobias’. “I know you have the ability to find me whenever, but that doesn’t mean you can deprive me of my hugs by looming around like some fancily-dressed scarecrow.”

‘Tobias’ raised an eyebrow. “Same girl?”

“Luna Lovegood. She understands my crazy.”

Humming and looking generally bored, the tall man stepped forward so he had to look up, fixing Aza’s hair to his perfectionist standards before looking him over. “If you do not return in the same condition you left, I will undo all that I did to get you into Hogwarts and make sure you never leave the wards of the manor.”

Aza tilted his head. “I might grow a few inches and my hair might be longer.”

“I mean that you aren’t allowed to get injured or die, you insufferable menace.” Brushing off his shoulder, ‘Tobias’ looked at him cooly. “I will expect your return. Should you not…”

“The world would burn. Got it.” His voice was faintly sarcastic, even if his lips curled up. Reaching up and standing on his toes to pat the man’s head, he grinned even wider at the surprise in the red eyes, picking up his trunk with a soft chuckle. “Not to worry, Mister Snake, I’ll be back in nine months.”

The train whistle broke the conversation and then Draco was grabbing his arm and pulling him away, not looking back as the boy led them onto the train.

Sitting down with the others towards the back of the train, he pulled out his book, parsing through the pages and trying to find where he’d left off.

_Somewhere towards the middle, right?_

Daphne spoke up out of nowhere. “I bet he lasts a week.”

“I bet five days.” Pansy’s voice was bored, opening up a newspaper.

Greg chuckled lowly. “Four days.”

Vince didn’t sound as amused. “Six days.”

“Three days.” Theo sounded almost absentminded, leaning over his shoulder and looking at the book he was flipping through.

Millicent hummed. “Two days.”

“He’s too proud- he’s going to stew over it until he gives in.” Draco’s voice was reminiscent of mischief, a hint of a grin in his voice. “I would say that he lasts a month, but not a day longer.”

Aza finally gave in and looked up with a slight frown. “What are you guys talking about?”

Pansy grinned toothily at him. “When your ‘Mister Snake’ is going to show up at Hogwarts demanding your presence.”

He blinked at that, shaking his head slightly as he huffed. “He’s not going to show up.”

“Is that your bet?” Daphne’s grin was too sharp.

“I’m not betting- I’m just saying that Thomas is a pinnacle of control and patience.” He shook his head and looked back down at his book. “He’ll work on his projects and probably get so lost down the wormhole of his diabolical plans he has that he’ll find me boring by the time I go back to the manor.”

Blaise just snorted. “And I bet he’ll be there by the end of the night.”

Aza just held his book up around his face so he didn’t have to see them, though he heard their soft laughter as he pouted to himself.

“You’re adorable.” Blaise patted his head. “But you might want to get your definition of ‘control’ checked.”

He frowned slightly. As a ‘hero’ to Wizarding Britain when he’d come out of Auror training he’d found that people were willing to grab at him just to try to touch him and if he didn’t project a calm front that the media would literally stalk him down. People went through his trash, he couldn’t go on dates without the worry that the details of his personal life would be plastered across the front page of the newspaper, and he constantly had to wear glamors going anywhere.

Yeah… his version of ‘control’ might have been a bit skewed by the fame he'd gotten after the war.

Reading for a while until he fell asleep, he felt Mal’s claws digging into his leg and blinked slowly.

Millicent met his gaze, Daphne asleep on one shoulder and Vince on the other. “We’re almost there.”

Draco and Blaise were asleep leaning on each other, Greg staring out the window thoughtfully, Theo and Pansy both reading their own things, so he put his book back in his trunk before standing to go to the restroom to change. When he got back most of the others were awake and doing the same, though they were all just using the room.

At his head-tilt, Daphne huffed softly. “We’ve all known each other since we were kids and we’re probably going to have arranged marriages with someone else in this compartment anyway.”

“Fair enough.” Aza didn’t look at the people still changing though, as they were children and even if he was physically also a child it still felt wrong. Sitting down, he played with Mal until the train started to slow to a stop, Daphne still braiding Pansy’s hair.

When the girls were done, they stood as a group and stepped off the train, walking together to a carriage though they had to split up.

The girls pulled him with them, getting their own carriage so Pansy could make him sit between her legs, testing different hair-curling spells on his hair.

“What shampoo do you use?”

Aza shugged. “I don’t know. If it’s there, I use it.”

Daphne put her head in her hands. “You know, Mr. Gaunt is right. Sometimes you are hopeless.”

He smiled at her cheekily. “Thanks, Daph. With that luck, I’ll get into Gryffindor.”

Looking between themselves, Pansy's jaw clenched and then looked at him with her I’m-hiding-something smile. “Let’s hope not.” When he frowned and poked her knee, the girl swatted his hand away. 

Poking her until she sighed deeply, he raised his eyebrows. “Why not?”

Pursing her lips, she looked at him for a long moment and then out the window. “We aren’t supposed to know this. I was wandering past Mr. Malfoy’s office and heard your name- apparently, he wants to disown you if you don’t get into a ‘respectable’ house.”

“Not to mention he hates that you _allegedly_ don’t have magic.” Daphne’s eyes rolled.

“Speaking of which…” Millicent gave him a look. “We heard you didn’t get a wand. How are you going to do anything without a wand?”

Drawing his Holly wand from the secret pocket he’d sewn into all his robes, he grinned. “Wand? I don’t have a wand. This is a stick that happens to have magical properties and that has bonded to me and my imaginary magic.”

The three girls giggled, seeming excited. Pansy grinned. “Oh, you’re going to drive Snape absolutely up the wall this year and I’m going to love every second of it.” The other two nodded in agreement.

Sliding his wand away, he shook his head. “You all are evil… and I _agree_.”

Hogwarts was just as beautiful as he remembered before that memory had gotten tainted with screams and blood on the stone, falling to the back with the others as he took in the good parts. The archway where Sirius and Buckbeak had said goodbye to him, the ceiling of the great hall, the floating candles… he felt as if his breath had been stolen from him.

The Hogwarts he’d gone to after the war for the one-year memorial had been redesigned, the starry ceiling replaced with glass, more windows added, and a wall of names carved into the stone right inside the Great Hall.

Aza touched the blank wall, fingers almost expecting to feel indents and a soft wounded noise was punched out of him when they met smooth stone.

“Hey… are you alright?” Draco was watching him closely, the others standing around them boredly but well-placed enough so no one could see them. 

Nodding and taking a deep breath, he let it out as he retreated into a mask of indifference, even if he still felt like crying. “I’m… the walls, they’re here and- and smooth.” Shaking his head when that got looks, he ran a hand through his hair that was much more fluffy and wild thanks to Pansy’s experimentation. “I can’t explain it, I’m just... inexplicably happy.”

Draco smiled at him, though it was slightly tinged with concern. “Well, we have to go sit down, alright?”

“Sure.” He turned around and leaned against the wall, a bright smile coming to his lips. “Go and sit with the rest of your snakes, little vipers.”

“Will do. Oh, and... I won the bet.” Blaise’s voice was smug as he turned, hands in the pockets of his slacks as he sauntered away.

They all looked up at the head table, seeing a familiar man with styled dark brown hair and impossible cheekbones looking at them even as he seemed to be sitting talking to Snape and McGonagall.

Daphne and Pansy cursed softly, Draco just sighing, and the others shook their heads as they meandered to the Slytherin table. With one last look at where he was now frowning, Draco patted his shoulder. “Good luck with that.”

Aza’s nose scrunched up, looking at ‘Tobias’ in irritation.

The man quirked up an eyebrow with a faint smirk as if questioning why he was still all the way across the room.

_Soggy biscuit._

Huffing to himself, he clenched his fists tightly before releasing them, crossing his arms as he looked away stubbornly _._ Eyes on a banner across the room, he got bored of that and looked up at the ceiling so he didn’t have to see ‘Tobias’ frowning at him out of the corner of his eyes.

“Azarias.” The voice carried across the hall. ‘Tobias’ was standing now, hands resting flat on the table as his eyes peered at Aza. “Come here.”

Looking at the man challengingly, he finally pushed himself off the wall and stalked down the main aisle, planting himself before the head table and re-crossing his arms. “Thomas. What a _surprise_.”

A chair moved and then Minerva McGonagall was coming up to him, cupping his face with wrinkled hands and looking him over. “I was waiting for the day my godson showed up. Albus tried to tell me some horseshite about your aunt telling him you were dead or somethin’ but I knew you weren’t. And look at you, kit!” She pulled him into her arms, hand resting on the back of his head softly but firmly as she held him tight. “I’m so proud of you already.”

Breath stuttering, he clutched at the woman, holding her just as tight. “Yeah… yeah, I’m happy to see you too, Minnie.”

Holding each other for a moment, the woman pulled back with a small smile on her stern lips as she brushed a hand over his hair. “You already look like your own person- the darker hair and small features.” The woman’s smile was fond. “You’re prettier than your mum ever was, kit, and I can see in your eyes you got a better heart than your parents ever will.”

“It’s not. I’m- I’m not.” His breath was pained. “I know you don’t know me, but…”

“But nothing, kit.” The woman’s smile was small, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “You’ve got a war in your eyes, child, and I see that well enough as I’ve seen wars… but you got kindness there too, even after everything you’ve seen.”

Aza looked away, back out at the hall. “Would you like to-… to see?”

“If you want to show me.”

Taking her hands, he nodded out at the hall, hearing her soft inhale as the room around them changed to what he remembered it as. “Oh, Azarias…”

Feeling a tingle against him, he felt ‘Tobias’ cast at him, letting go of her hands and then moving to the edge of the high table so he could peer at the man. “Thomas. If you wanted my attention you could have just asked. So? Did you see what you wanted?”

“Still no sign of magic. Not even a tremble.” ‘Tobias’ looked at him curiously. “How are you hiding it? Did you seal it away or are you just slamming the door shut whenever anyone tries to check?”

“And why are you here?” His eyes were flat, mask having slammed up. “I thought I was promised nine months free of you.”

‘Tobias’ smirked meanly. “You’ll never be free of me, Azarias.”

A hand settled on his shoulder, Minerva looking between them. “I see that you two have met. May I ask what you mean, Tobias?”

“He’s being obsessive again.” Pushing up his sleeves, he scowled when ‘Tobias’ smirked at the sight of the thick golden bands on both his wrists. “Or possessive. I can’t tell and right now I don’t care enough to figure it out. You know, I _just_ stood up for you on the train because the others were saying something about you needing attention and I refuted their argument by vouching for your self-control.”

Snape snorted from their side, though he covered it with a cough when both Aza and ‘Tobias’ looked at him. 

Minerva sighed. “Tobias.”

“Annoying Azarias with my mere presence is a hobby of mine, yes, but it was not the sole reason I came to Hogwarts.” Leaning back in his chair, ‘Tobias’ steepled his fingers haughtily. “I am actually here researching education so I may better know how to set up the primary school I plan to build. Though that might require frequent access and perhaps even observation of certain classes.”

“You’re so full of _shit_.”

Eyes darkening, ‘Tobias’ flashed a corner of teeth as his smirk widened. “In fact, I think that I will be here often enough to warrant Hogwarts making me a room and office.” His eyes slid to Minerva. “If you would be so kind as to host me, of course.”

“I am here to keep the peace, so as long as you are not causing harm you are welcome…” Mineva probably felt how he was trembling with the urge to punch the man. “But I will be looking over the plans you are drawing up, as I have far more experience teaching than you do. As well, I will schedule you a list of classes you may sit in on, to make sure you get some _diversity_.”

‘Tobias’ studied Minerva for a long moment before smiling thinly. “Of course, Minerva. I am a guest in your school, after all.”

Nodding, the woman looked at him. “You’re to be sorted now, kit. Severus, if you’d get the book of names?” 

When the woman started to walk around the table, Snape standing, Aza leaned forward to grab ‘Tobias’s’ tie and pulled. His voice was quiet, barely a whisper in the man’s ear. “If you wanted my attention you should have shown up in a few months when I was tired of mindless school work and I would have humored your obsessiveness because I’m _nice_ like that. But now? Now I’m going to do my best to ignore your very _existence_. Do try to remember that this is the outcome of _your_ choice.” Letting go of his tie and feeling inexplicably pleased that he’d gotten it all wrinkled in his grip, he moved to the stool at the front of the dais and sat down cooly, ignoring the eyes on the back of his head.

When Snape returned to his side, eyes faintly amused, the man opened the book and scanned the page. “Hogwarts recognizes Azarias Malfoy as a student.” Taking the sorting hat, he set it on Aza’s head.

There was silence, though he could feel the hat reaching out and he met it halfway.

_“Ah… This has never happened before. I may need some time.”_

Crossing one of his legs over the other, he sat tall even as he closed his eyes. “Take all the time you need.”

The hat sorted and sifted through memories, the hall slowly growing louder the longer he sat with his eyes closed peacefully, as he was long used to sitting as still as he needed for long stakeouts or just to avoid trouble.

There was the sound of doors opening and he suspected that the first-years had shown up.

The hat cleared its throat out loud, even if its voice was still only in his mind. _“Well…”_

“Yes, it’s quite a lot, isn’t it?” He smiled faintly as he let his eyes fall open, looking at the floor to his side. “Any thoughts?”

_“You would do well in any of the houses, though usually, sort children on what they value highest because they are not yet fully formed people. With you… it is harder because you value cunning and smarts, but your heart is kind and brave.”_

Aza’s lips pressed together. “Well I'm playing Russian roulette with the rest of my fate, why not this?”

_“Much has changed and it may not seem easy, but you will do the right thing.”_

His hands pressed to his eyes. “Everyone says ‘the right thing’ and yet no one ever defines it. How will I know what is and isn’t right?”

Allistair hummed. _“Right and wrong are defined by you, so perhaps instead I should just say ‘follow your heart’.”_

“Then you know what I want.”

“ _Yes, you will do well in..._ RAVENCLAW!”

Aza sighed wearily and stood, setting the hat back on the stool. Then he paused and looked at it curiously. “Do you think I could…”

The hat seemed to smile with its leathery lips. “Doesn’t hurt to try.”

Picking the hat back up, he reached inside and felt a hilt come to his hand easily, grinning as he pulled his sword from the hat. Rolling it in his hand, he dipped his head to the hat. “Thanks.” 

“Azari- Mr. Malfoy…” Minerva’s voice was stunned. “What in Merlin's name…”

“The Sword of Gryffindor.” He spun it around with a soft laugh, before moving to lay it before his godmother. “Technically, it’s yours now. Just… if it disappears, tell me and I’ll give it back. It tends to get a bit attached to whoever finds it.”

Minerva stared at him with wide eyes. “I… Thank you for both finding and returning this historic artifact to me, Mr. Malfoy.”

Nodding, he shoved his hands into his pockets and padded down to the Ravenclaw table where he sat down in an empty seat by Luna. “How’d I do?”

“Twelve minutes.” The girl smiled at him. “A new record, I’d say.”

Aza yawned softly into his hand. “It's not my fault Alistair was having issues reading me. I'd say I'm a fairly simple person, as the only big goal in my life is to have some sort of normalcy."

The girl smiled knowingly. "What classes are you taking?"

Worrying at his lip, he shrugged. "I signed up for Care of Magical Creatures and Arithmancy, but I think I eventually want to go into healing. I was planning on going to University for Psychology, but that might not be an option anymore with the Malfoys and all their…” He waved his hand. “You know." 

“You’re welcome to stay with me during the summers.” Luna put food on his plate as she did hers, smiling at him brightly. “I would love to have an angel around!”

“Even an angel that deals in death and not miracles?” He didn’t look at her as he poked at his food, not hungry.

Luna‘s voice was soft. “Some would equate the two.”

A bloody kitchen flashed across the back of his eyelids when he pressed a hand to his eyes, almost able to smell the stench of the crime scene he’d found when Mr. Weasley had called in that there was a disturbance at the Lovegood’s residence. He could hear Rolf Scamader’s sobs as he’d had to tell the man that his soon-to-be wife had been attacked, could feel the blood of the minor Death Eater that had done it on his hands as he beat the man’s face in with punch after punch, Draco having to drag him off.

Closing his eyes and raising his hands to his face as he tried to breathe, feeling as if his lungs couldn’t take in the air, he curled forward and pushed his plate away so he could put his head down on the cool wood.

“Aza?” A hand went to touch his shoulder but he flinched, feeling her pull away. “Is there anything I can do?”

“O-one. Tw-...two. Three...” He shook his head as he clutched at his chest, trying to just get the numbers out of his mouth as Hermione had taught him. “Fo-four. Fi-… five…. Six. Sev-seven.”

People were asking what was wrong, talking, but he just ignored it and focused on where his nails were digging into the table.

“Eight... Eight. Nine. T-.. ten.” Taking a ragged breath, he sat up and looked at the ceiling. “No glass… There's no glass.”

His breath was getting deeper even if he felt raw and worn out as if he'd break down crying any moment.

Aza put his hands to his face, pressing at his eyes slightly until he felt a bit more stable.

“I didn’t mean to make you panic.” Luna reached out and this time he didn’t flinch away, letting her put a hand on his shoulder.

Shaking his head, he put his hands down even if he didn't look at anyone. “It’s been a long day. I had to revisit so many potential triggers that I’m surprised I didn’t have a panic attack earlier.” Rubbing his eyes, he reached for his goblet and swallowed down a gulp of the sweet pumpkin juice he normally hated. “I’m fine now- just have to remember who I am.”

The hand on his shoulder squeezed gently. “Eat something, Aza. You don’t do that enough.”

Nodding, he kept his head down and ate the food she’d put on his plate, ignoring the whispers around him as he and Luna occupied their own little bubble of peace.

Given he was going into fourth year with no records of study, Aza wasn’t all that surprised when Flitwick waved him aside after the Ravenclaw Prefects- Aubry Fuller and Roger Davies- a small concerned frown on the man’s lips. “Mr. Malfoy. As your Head of House, I have to ask… Do you believe you are prepared for the fourth-year course load?”

“I do.” Smiling, he rocked back on his heels slightly. “Trust me, I’m more than prepared for whatever gets thrown my way.”

The smaller man nodded and then looked at him sort of hesitantly, as if unsure what to say. “And, er, on the subject of the course-load, many of the teachers will be offering to mark your grade based fully on your knowledge and theory, as the practical side is not as… doable.”

Pulling out his wand and twirling it through his fingers, having hand-sewn a small thin pocket into his robes as soon as he’d gotten them, he smiled faintly. “I think that you will find I don’t need such concern, but I am grateful either way.”

“You- you have…”

“I am a squib.” He looked at the man closely, his voice pointed. “You see, if I was to have magic- which I _don’t-_ then I would be proven to be worthy of interest in the eyes of certain _snakey_ parties. Right now, said party is obsessively looming over me 80% of the time anyway even though there is a love/hate dynamic between wanting me around and looking down on my not having magic- do you understand that _if_ I was to have magic I would probably never see the light of day again?”

Flitwick frowned slightly. “Are you in danger?”

Aza chuckled softly at that. “No, no, it’s nothing like that. Thomas hasn’t hurt me yet and I doubt he’ll start soon, as I would just hit him back just as hard- just more that I’m not a fan of the idea of these,” he brushed up his sleeves to show off the gold bands, “being more restrictive to my freedom than they already are.”

Looking between his eyes before eyeing the bracelets, the man nodded. “I will make it clear to the teachers that practicals can be tested _outside_ of class.”

“Don’t tell Snape.” His smile was faint. “He’s biased towards Thomas on this one.”

Pursing his lips but nodding again, the man moved to his office, leaving Aza to move back to Luna’s side with a faint smile.

The girl scooted over with a curious look. “You think you can hide from him?”

His grin was wry. “I’ve done it before. Plus, isn’t the best place to hide in plain sight?”

“I’m pretty sure that this isn’t the situation to use that saying.” Luna smiled faintly at him before looking back at her book. “But then again, you never do things normally- this is no different.”

“I resent that statement.” And yet he was smiling as he leaned back into the couch, reading over her shoulder.

It seemed that the dynamics of the school had shifted with the Order’s decline, as many of the ‘lighter’ families had gotten caught up in the dangerous game of hide-and-threaten-influential-lords that Dumbledore’s people were doing, as well a sort of stigmatism coming with the name of the Order that tended to linger around the Gryffindors.

Funny how society tended to over-correct itself when one group was shown to be bad, but with the more that he learned about the Order’s dealings in the past few years- _including but not limited to: property damage, tax evasion, robbery of a muggle bank, trying to hold up Kings Cross in a protest against the Ministry that got a muggle-born boy killed in the crossfire between the Order and the Aurors, burning down a small outer field station of the Ministry in Scotland, and two attempted assassinations of the Minister (AKA ‘Tobias’)-_ he almost agreed that they had lost their minds.

As it was, Hermione was in Ravenclaw, he’d seen Lavender Brown in Hufflepuff robes, and Daphne had muttered something about Romida Vane earlier- who’d gotten into Slytherin (not that he was all that surprised).

But though the main thing on his mind the first week or so of classes was getting into a good state with his housemates and assessing how bored he was going to be in classes, there was a certain _pest_ lingering around him.

‘Tobias’ Imbecile Slytherin _(yes, that was the man’s official middle name)_ had the presence of a mosquito flying around his ear at the moment and he was about ready to throw hands with the man.

It was annoying, ignoring ‘Tobias’, as usually, he could just bite out some sarcastic comment to appease the man’s need for interaction and help some of the intensity of his staring, but now it was like the eye of Sauron was trying to burn his skin off while slowly getting closer.

In some cases, literally.

The Ravenclaws had taken to him with moderate approval and high interest, so when ‘Tobias’ asked to sit in the common room and observe, he usually ended up bracketing himself in between Lisa Turpin and Luna or Hermione with a book as a second added line of defense.

Though at the moment he only had his book, as Lisa and the others were talking softly in the corner and Luna was in class. And he wasn’t going to give up his favorite sofa- he refused to let the man drive him from his space, as that would be showing that he was affected. So when he felt the couch sink as ‘Tobias’ sat down next to him, he flexed his jaw and then turned to the side, lying back with his feet and bent legs resting between them.

“Azarias...”

He didn’t move his book.

Feeling a weight on his knees, he laid the book down for long enough to see the man was using his bent knees as an armrest, before scoffing and going back to reading. The more time passed, the more unwilling he was to acknowledge the man or move, as that would be the same as acknowledging the man.

“I'm doing a survey- What rudimentary skills did you wish to learn before you came to this place that you inevitably said would ‘bore you with schoolwork’?”

Letting his book fall to his chest again, he scowled deeply at the man. “Fuck off, Thomas.”

“Language.” A finger tapped his leg with a light stinging hex, even if ‘Tobias’ was smirking. “And I will not do such a thing, as I think I quite enjoy the peacefulness of this Common Room.”

Lifting his book back up, he flicked out a tendril of magic, and the room split with loud operatic music from an old radio on a shelf, a woman belting out some Italian song.

He felt the wash of the magic-identifying spell over him, grinning to himself when the man gave an irritated sound. There was the sound of something cracking as if having been smashed and the room was once more plunged into silence- this time seeming almost unnatural after the loud noise. ‘Tobias’s’ voice was low and dangerous. “You’re playing with fire, Azarias.”

“Oh, and I will be _happy_ to burn.” His voice was a mutter, flipping his page.

There was the sound of a door opening and then Flitwick’s stern voice spoke up. “Mr. Slytheirn! If you are going to be a bother to my students I will have to ask you to leave!”

Slipping his legs off the sofa, he stood and stretched with a small mocking smile. “Oh, yes, shame on you, Mister Snake, for disrupting our peace. What a rash and impulsive person you are, with no appreciation for our time away from adults hovering over us.” Shaking his head, he started out of the room to go do an essay at the desk in his dorm.

“What’re those?” Michael Corner leaned across the table over breakfast, gesturing to his wrists despite how Terry Boot hissed and Anthony Goldstein tried to pull at his shoulder, obviously doing something that the other two boys deemed ‘embarrassing’.

Aza looked up from where he was quietly comparing essays with Hermione for Charms, as they had agreed that if they did well in the class it would help in interactions with Flitwick (even though he had made sure to mention off-handedly that she was still smart despite what others perceived of her). “Huh?”

Luna held out a piece of toast that had jam slathered across it, her voice absent. “Your bracelets.”

“Oh.” Looking at the gold bands wrapped around his wrists, as he’d rolled his sleeves up, he shrugged and took the toast. “They’re bracelets.” He took a bite of the toast, chewing as he looked at the boys that were glancing between themselves.

Finally, Terry Boot spoke up, voice slightly mocking. “Is it true, the rumor that they’re bound to the Minister? Malfoy has a pair, but they’re silver and everyone thinks that they’re there to keep him safe because his _mommy_ doesn’t want her _itsy bitsy Dragon_ to get hurt.”

Aza stared at him cooly. “Draco has them because Lucius Malfoy is a prominent member of the Ministry and they can lead the Aurors directly to Draco’s location if he is hurt or abducted. He has his bands because he is protected.” He pulled at his sleeves, voice a mutter. “I have mine because Thomas is an _idiot_.”

“Don’t let _him_ hear you say that.” Blaise moved to lean against his back with a small wry grin. “Are you really avoiding him? I mean, you two are practically never apart when in the manor and he acts like more of a father to you than Mr. Malfoy ever has.”

He snorted. “Please don’t ever refer to that man as part of my family ever again, thank you. He just gravitates towards me because I’m supposedly _interesting._ ” Tilting his head back, he gave Blaise a small smile. “And yes, I am currently avoiding him, given I was promised nine months free of his overbearing presence.”

Blaise ruffled his hair. “Well, they don’t give refunds, so I think you're stuck with him. Plus, it was pretty clear that he wasn’t going to leave you alone from the second you tried to kill yourself running out the Manor doors- he was pretty panicked about that.”

“Good. He deserves grey hairs.” Aza found himself pouting. “Why are you over here anyway?”

“Draco and Pansy are breaking into the Ravenclaw dorms to steal all of your muggle clothes and burn them.”

His head whipped around to the Slytherin table, which was indeed bare of the two scheming fools, putting a hand to his face so he could rub the bridge of his nose. “Why… what did I ever do to you three to deserve your wrath?”

“Slytherin and Snape apparently got drunk after you got Slytherin kicked out of the Ravenclaw Tower. Snape wasn’t too happy about having to take a hangover potion and has been more prickly than usual to us in the Common Room.” Blaise just draped himself over Aza’s back, squeezing gently. “We surmised that this would be equal payback.”

Aza turned his head to peer at the boy. “You’re all evil.”

With a lazy grin, the boy pulled back and ruffled his hair again. “I’m sure Slytherin will appreciate it, so you’re welcome to pout all you want, but it won’t do anything for your ratty t-shirts.” Draco and Pansy strolled back into the hall with identical smirks, the Italian boy gesturing to them. “Well, I better get back to my table.”

“Treachery!” He called after Blaise as the boy walked away chuckling, frowning. “I know I should have suspected something was up.”

Anthony Goldstein raised an eyebrow. “So… you’re close with the Minister?”

He sighed deeply. “Unfortunately for my sanity... yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this specifically because I needed a story with a completely irrationally obsessed sort of morally grey Tom with a doesn't-give-a-shit chaotic gremlin Harry that just goes along with practically anything because it's not as weird as some of the shit he's had to deal with as an international celebrity/hero (and teenage heartthrob)  
> Like,  
> Tom: I'm going to make golden bracelets specifically so I can track your every move  
> Aza: *thinking about how he used to wear a tracking pedant in case some rabid fan abducted him*  
> Aza: Cool with me- but can you make them more decorative? Like throw a few snake designs on there or something  
> Tom: *absolutely delighted* oh- okay!


	5. Name me after a mirror so I can reflect on my past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :) my brain is mush :)

Trying to avoid the rumors going around about him being somehow ‘special’ because of fate’s habit of giving Tom Riddle an unhealthy obsession with him, he found himself sitting with Hermione, Sue Li, Padma Parvati, and List Turpin in the back corner of the library.

The other boys were using their break to hang out with some of the Hufflepuffs and he’d sort of gravitated towards feminine presences more after the war, as they were safer to him and his unrelenting queerness. Plus he just didn’t have the energy to keep up with Quidditch and the other nonsense that the boys were always talking about, not to mention how they were a bit too… abrasive and immature for him to be fully comfortable.

At least with the girls, he could half-listen to their wandering trains of thought while also being allowed the space to do his school assignments in peace. Sure, sometimes they talked about things he couldn’t relate to that much, but they were comfortable in the silence the way most of the guys thought they had to be filled with annoyances.

_(Sometimes he felt like an old man yelling at the void, thinking such things.)_

However, when even footsteps approached their group and the girls quieted, he resigned himself to not having his peace. 

“Azarias.” ‘Tobias’ stopped by the side of his chair, Aza’s feet hanging over the side of the armchair he was sitting in. “Will you talk to me or are you still being stubborn and ill-tempered?”

He decided to pull the ‘immature stubborn teenager’ card, looking over at Hermione. “Did you hear something? I could have sworn I heard a snake.”

Rolling her eyes, Hermione stood and looked between them, the other three girls following her lead reluctantly. “We’ll leave you two to talk.” She shot him a pointed look, given that he’d taken to her as quickly as he had Luna and she’d taken up the unofficial title as his minder.

Because apparently, he needed a minder.

Aza waved at them, looking back at his book.

“Actually talk, Aza.” When he just snorted, Hermione gave a small huff that told him she was irritated at him, following the others out and whispering amongst themselves quietly.

“You cannot _still_ be mad at me for following you to Hogwarts.” 

Folding his legs, he looked at the man levelly for a long moment. “And why wouldn’t I? Thomas, I’ve lived in a house all my life that didn’t care if I left to go to the library and didn’t come back- It may not have been trust and there were other things wrong with that house, but at least I had some degree of freedom.” He shoved at his sleeve, holding up one of his wrists. “I understand these- really, I understand not trusting the Order or even myself with my safety, but aren't these enough?”

‘Tobias’ didn’t even blink, much less think about it. “No.”

Aza closed his eyes for a moment and ran a hand through his messy hair in frustration. “And you say that _I’m_ the hopeless one.”

The man huffed. “I’m not going to apologize for something I don’t regret, but I will say that after consideration, I have found that I am not as... _indifferent_ to the idea of your death as I thought.”

“My death?” His eyebrows drew together in confusion, as that had thrown him for a loop (though it was kind of nice to know that maybe the man wouldn’t kill him the moment he proved to be ‘uninteresting’). “Thomas, Hogwarts is perfectly safe.”

“I have been deliberating on the second prophecy given to Dumbledore and I would rather not see you die before I can figure out your secrets.” ‘Tobias’s’ eyes didn’t meet his, moving to lean against the arm of a nearby chair. “And for every question I think I have answered about you, I find six more.”

Considering that, he nodded slowly. “Fine. But only because I actually dread the day Dumbledore comes for me and I know he’ll be more careful about trying to get into the school if you’re here.” He still frowned though. “Won’t your absence bother the Ministry?”

‘Tobias’ waved a hand. “There is no one that would try to question my choices as long as I keep the government running and show some faint reason for being here. I have chosen my reason, for now, to be the preparatory school for young witches and wizards I am planning to make, though I am sure that in the coming years it will be understood if I am to keep an eye on my chosen prodigy, given how talented Severus and Minerva have told me you are.”

“You mean that all the people that have the power to doubt you and do anything about it are all either paid or marked by you.”

The man grinned toothily. “Perhaps. I’m surprised- you don’t have a comment on how soon when you go anywhere, people will know that _you’re_ the sole reason the Minister himself has designed to run this country from Hogwarts of all places?”

Aza instinctively ran his finger across the book’s pages as he stared at ‘Tobias’. “Do you really want that? The whole Wizarding World to know that I’m somehow that important to the man who has for so long been without interest in others?” He tilted his head. “What then? What happens when during one of the Malfoy Yule Balls where Narcissa will want to parade me around, someone will think the best way to get to you is to hurt me? Or when Dumbledore hears and decides to come ‘save’ me from you?”

‘Tobias’s’ grin faded, eyes bleeding red slowly. “They would not _dare_.”

He shrugged, knowing what he was doing was more than a bit manipulative but not wanting his life to turn into him being known as some sort of ‘special wonder boy’ again. “Either way, my life is in your hands. Though I guess that publicizing the fact that I’m so important would-”

“No.” ‘Tobias’s’ voice verged on a hiss. “You’re right. It would be foolish to state something so outwardly at this time, with the Order still active and hiding somewhere in the crowds of _muggles._ ”

Nodding idly, he sunk back in his chair. “I mean, there will still be rumors, but as a close friend of the Malfoys, it shouldn’t be too bad. You’re my friend and so what if you keep an eye on me for Narcissa?”

“We’re... friends?”

“Yeah.” He raised an eyebrow at where the man seemed to have stilled as if his brain couldn’t process that fact. “I’m not one of your minions and I don’t care how all-powerful you are- we’re friends. I mean, the other option is calling you my mentor, but I like friends more.”

‘Tobias’ blinked slowly at him, like a snake. “Friends then.”

Azarias almost felt _bad_. He knew that the man hadn’t had many people in his life that were there without ulterior motives, but getting to see that fact up close made him want to employ the touchy Hufflepuff part of himself and hug the man. Instead, he just huffed softly with a small smile. “Friends. Now can I read? I really just need some peace and quiet.”

“Are you planning on going back to ignoring me?” 

He shook his head slightly. “I have reluctantly accepted that you’re here now and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

‘Tobias’ smiled, seeming pleased at that as he moved to actually sit down in the chair he was leaning against. “Nothing at all.”

Being stared at while he was reading wasn’t as uncomfortable as it used to be, though he wasn’t sure what that said about him, finding something akin to ease in the presence of ‘Tobias’s’ obsessive nature.

It turned out with some extra funding and a Headmaster focused more on education and not setting up intricate death-traps to prove student’s worth, there were more classes available (two of which were basic classes on warding and healing) along with teachers being able to take on student aids and newer furniture for the Common Rooms.

Rest in peace rickety chair in the Gryffindor Common Room that looked stable but always broke whenever someone sat in it. Its endless stream of amusing moments via gullible first years would be missed.

On the plus side? The Ravenclaw Common Room had beanbag chairs.

_This was probably why Hermione said he should never try to drive any type of moving vehicle- because he was already good at cooking and okay at math, so he shouldn’t tempt fate and try to achieve the impossibility of all three, lest Magic make him... straight. [*gasp*]_

_(...he blamed Draco for his sense of theatrics.)_

As it was, he actually found the improvements to the school made his life a lot easier. Without any plots against his life, he could actually have a solid education while also being allowed to blend into the muddle of students as there were no death tournaments to choose him to be ‘special’ or supposed mass murderers after his head. No dead parents to make anyone feel guilty for even looking at him either.

Bartemus Crouch Jr. had taken over the History position after his father had been exposed for using the imperius curse and faking trial records, some time at St. Mungos leaving him as Sirius had been- a bit wild and sort of deranged looking but mostly harmless- and Aza once again took it upon himself to befriend the odd man. A decision Hermione and Padma went with eagerly, Sue and Lisa having a few more doubts but jumping on the train after they realized that the Professor was more than willing to let their little group use their off-periods to hang around the history classroom.

No more getting yelled out of the library was a big plus.

And if ‘Tobias’ ended up sitting with Professor Crouch while they had loud arguments over theoretical nonsense or debates about random topics, then that was all fine and good, as it wasn’t bothering them. 

“No- you don’t understand! Licking rocks is a valid thing to do as a geologist!” Hermione’s voice was raised, hands waving.

Aza just wheezed, clutching at his stomach, almost crying at the face that Lisa was making.

“Hermione, saying that muggles do it doesn’t really help your case.”

The girl with the bushy hair made a noise of offense, much to his and Sue’s amusement. “No- really! If you lick it and it tastes like salt then-”

“Then you should get some mouthwash.” Padma smiled behind her hand.

“NO! It means it might be halite! As in SALT! Jeez- it’s not because it’s weird it’s because Halite crystals look almost exactly like quartz and it’s the only way to tell!” Hermione’s face was flushed, eyes narrowed on Padma, who was trying not to giggle.

There was a soft knock on the door, Draco looking at them curiously. “Hey, Aza. We were wondering if we could-”

“Lick the rocks.” Theo slid past Draco without preamble, moving to sit between Luna and Hermione. “Because then if it sticks to your tongue, you know it’s bone and not rock.”

“THANK YOU!” Hermione sounded relieved to have someone on her side.

Lisa’s face scrunched up even more. “How do you know that bone sticks to your tongue? Plus that’s gross. And can’t you tell it’s bone instead of rock- or what if it’s wood?”

“It would taste like wood.” Theo’s face was deadpan. “Plus technically bones are made of organic materials, so they’re essentially rocks.”

Aza leaned into Luna, out of breath from laughter as he hid his face between her shoulder and the sofa. Looking up to see the Slytherins sitting down where they could, he grinned at them. “Thank you- I now have the impulse to lick my bones and see if I stick.”

There was the sound of someone clearing their throat from the back and ‘Tobias’ stared at him flatly when he looked over. “No hurting yourself. If you wish to test that, I will find you _someone else’s_ bones.”

“I’m good, thanks though, Thomas.” With a faint smile, he then looked at the others, meeting their looks. “What?”

Hermione shook her head. “What were we talking about before we got sidetracked?”

“Transfiguration.” Luna’s voice was absent. 

“Right, right, of course.” Hermione looked at the Slytherins. “Did any of you do the paper yet?”

And from there, the Slytherins took to the Ravenclaws fairly well, and because they hung around ‘Tobias’ and Barty the older Slytherins gave them more than a little leeway than they would the other Ravenclaws.

Aza was just… bored.

Already. It hadn’t three months and he was already spacing off during class, staring out the window in thought. Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures were engaging, mostly because last life he’d only half paid attention in Care and he’d never taken Arthmancy before, but other than that he had kind of… checked out.

Hermione had noticed, always elbowing him or giving him looks, but this was the first time anyone had specifically sat him down to ask about it.

Snape stared at him from across the desk as if this was a normal teacher-student intervention. “You’ve been passive, Mr. Malfoy. I see you in both class and outside it when you chose to drop into Mr. Crouch’s classroom while he and I are planning for our next classes, so don’t tell me you’re that unresponsive and distracted normally- you can answer a question asked to you when reading like it’s nothing. So why aren’t you engaging in class? I’ve heard your discussions and read your papers, you’re brilliant at Defense, so where’s this lack of enthusiasm stemming from?”

“I’m not interested in defense.”

‘Tobias’ leaned forward from his seat off to the side, eyes curious. “Why not?”

_Normal student-teacher talks wouldn’t include a hovering snake._

Aza looked at the man blandly. “The only positions that hold defense in high standard are the Aurors, the industry of selling or taming magical beasts, Hit Wizards, Ward-breakers, and professional Duelers. Even the Unspeakables look at Charms grades before Defense grades. I’m not interested in fighting.” He looked back at Snape in determination. “I want to be a healer.”

“Azarias, to be a healer, you have to be above average at Potions.” When he looked away, the man sighed. “I don't mean to mock your weaknesses, but Slughorn said-”

“What would _he_ know!” Standing, frustrated, he paced the small area in front of the desk.

_Slughorn._

That was his only issue with the school in this life- because Snape had wanted the Defense position, Minerva had fallen back on Slughorn since he’d been a teacher for years and knew the school better than even herself. Snape still retained the Slytherin Head of House, but Slughorn had resumed his stupid patronizing ‘Slug Club’. Not to mention he’d always gotten a strange sort of icky feeling from the man and his sticky fingers, so in an attempt to crawl out of the gleam of the man’s greedy eyes, he’d messed up his potions on purpose. 

And it had worked. 

The man had stopped lingering near him or even paying attention to him, but now he was stuck with the stigmatism of being rubbish at potions. Which was annoying, as he’d spent a lot of time with Hermione and Draco working to get better at potions- even went in with Draco to get their mastery together at the same time during a week they had off duty.

Aza scowled deeply at the floor, stopping his pacing and looking at Snape. “I _will_ be a healer, damn what _Slughorn_ says.”

Snape looked at him with questioning eyes. “Sit down, Azarias.” When he did, the man looked at him levelly. “I know that I am not Head of your House, but I expect you to tell me if there is an issue with my class.”

“Not with your class, no.” He looked away, fingers tapping against his thighs. “I want to test out of History, take Runes. And I’d like to get a pass into the restricted section for reading under topics of self-study approved by my teachers outside the normal course material, meaning if I can show an understanding of the material they’re teaching then I’m allowed to read on materials they’re not teaching. Like Alchemy. Or Healing. Or ward-breaking.”

Snape looked at him for a long moment in disbelief. “You think that taking on more course material will help you focus? Am I hearing you correctly?”

“He’s bored.” ‘Tobias’ smiled at him, seeming more amused than anything. “Aren’t you, _Angel_?”

“Completely and utterly.” Tipping his head back, he looked at the ceiling. “I read the textbooks, the reference books, and then looked ahead on the syllabus for each class. If you’d given me another day or two I was going to try out for Quidditch and just focus on that, but I could probably still be a reserve seeker with my self-study.”

The Professor made a sharp huffing sound at that. “That is a bit overconfident, don’t you think? How do you know you could even test out of history anyway?”

“Crouch assigns comprehensive history textbooks and I got absorbed.” Sinking further into the chair, he waved a hand absently. “I decided to borrow the textbooks of the older students and read them because Flitwick was protesting that I shouldn’t try to rebuild that radio that he,” Aza jerked his thumb in ‘Tobias's’ direction, “destroyed in a fit of irritation.”

“It deserved it. I hate opera.” ‘Tobias’ didn’t sound very apologetic- or surprised, for that matter.

Aza peered at him suspiciously. “Why aren’t you surprised? You’re being weird and that doesn’t bode well for me.”

‘Tobias’ grinned toothily at him. “I have been watching as you picked up book after book from the Malfoy Manor, reading them like they were picture books while bundled in blankets- I would expect no less from you, Azarias. Though I am a bit surprised you don’t have more talent in Potions, what with how often you like to cook with the elves.” When he stared at the man, ‘Tobias’s’ smile turned into something a bit softer, impossibly fond for someone who didn’t know the meaning of the word ‘fond’. “But, then again, I suppose that we all have subjects that we are weak in and you did not grow up around potions as Draco did.”

He forced himself to look away, not knowing how to categorize that expression in his mental file of the man. “I’m not horrible, just not up to Sughorn’s genius standards.” His eyes traced the stone of the ceiling. “Probably why I’m not in Slytherin- don’t all snakes have to be impossibly good at potions? Do you have some sort of entry-level training? Private lessons?”

“We are getting off-topic.” Snape cleared his throat.

Aza’s lips curled up as he looked at Snape out of the corner of his eyes. “That was a horrible change of subject, Professor, are you admitting that you help your students with potions?”

“I am saying that if I catch you reading something not related to defense in my class or falling asleep, I will throw something at you!” 

“Alright.” He smiled and then stood, brushing back his outer robes to put his hands in his pockets. “Is that all?”

Snape huffed, obviously irritated with their meandering conversation. “No- well, yes- but I will talk to Minerva about this! Now just- get out, you give me a headache.” He stood, waving a hand at Aza as he stalked back to his office.

Slinging his satchel over his shoulder, he walked out, finding ‘Tobias’ fell into step with him easily. “You know, what I did when at Hogwarts-”

“A million years ago?”

‘Tobias’ glared at him, starting over. “When I was at Hogwarts-”

“Did you ride a dinosaur to school?”

“I _will_ silence you.”

He grinned. “Well, that’s an improvement on strangling me.” When the man’s eyes flashed red, he held up his hands with a laugh. “Okay, okay, I’ll stop interrupting for now.”

Staying silent for a moment and eyeing him as Aza mimed zipping his lips shut, locking them, and throwing away the key, ‘Tobias spoke slowly. “As I was saying… When I was at Hogwarts, I often entertained myself with side-projects of my own design without the teachers knowing, including exploring the castle. If you cannot find something, you’re welcome to ask, but uncovering the castle’s mysteries is half the fun.”

“And the other half?”

‘Tobias’ flashed him a grin. “Knowing that a part of this historic and ancient piece of history was found by you alone and thus you can claim it as your own.”

He found himself smiling despite himself, shaking his head.

_Typical._

Stopping before the Ravenclaw Common Room door, which ‘Tobias’ was still banned from entering, he sent the man a bright smile. “Well… when I wish to spend one of my weekends wandering around the castle with you uncovering secrets, I will be sure to let you know.” 

And yet, some things were better done alone.

Azarias traced the old rotted wood of the door that probably hadn’t been touched in decades, pushing gently and watching the grey door that blended into the stone swung open on rusty hinges. Luckily he was so deep in the dungeons that the sound would probably be put off as a ghost rattling around, moving inside the room and shutting the door firmly behind him before even daring to look back.

In the center of a dusty room was a tall flat object covered by a black sheet that was lined with its own layer of dust.

Flicking his hand to clean the room, he moved before the Mirror of Erised and then reached out slowly to fist his hand in the sheet. It slipped to the floor, even if the material was still caught in his hand.

He didn’t see his parents anymore- nor all those he’d lost like when he’d tracked this room down on impulse after the war.

He didn’t see achievement, like Ron.

No, he suspected that the one person that might understand what he saw would have been Dumbledore because as crazy as the man was, he’d looked into the mirror and seen the man he’d destroyed- just like Aza did.

‘Tobias Mortus Gaunt-Slytherin’- _the one man that had taken up so much space in his life so quickly his head practically spun_ \- stood before him with gleaming eyes that sent him a knowing look.

Aza put his hands on his head with his fingers laced together. “Well… Fuck.”

Because with the looming knowledge that he couldn’t die had come many things- apathy to his own safety, an indifference to temporary pain, and a deep consuming fear that one day he would be left alone, lost from everything he knew.

_And who better to offer him companionship but his so-called ‘equal’?_

_If he truly_ _was_ _a Horcrux somehow, did that mean the other man couldn’t die either?_

_Was that how this ended- with them either resigning themselves to being interwoven as one or becoming so separate they could never share the same space? Would the two options be love or apathy? And if so, how was he supposed to ever tell ‘Tobias’ that without explaining his past life where Aza had carried out the man’s worst fear by killing him?_

“Azarias?”

Head shooting up as the door was pushed open, he stared at the man himself. “Thomas. Why…”

The man looked from him to the mirror. “You missed lunch, so I decided to check your location.” Stepping forward into the room, hands tucked into his pockets, he moved to Aza’s side. “A mirror? I didn’t know this room was here- seems you took my advice after all.”

“It’s the Mirror of Erised.” He waved a hand at the inscribing on the mirror. “Shows you what you want most of all.” He frowned at where the mirror had changed to reflect them, only the other version of himself was smiling widely as he said the same words, hand holding ‘Tobias’s’ and swinging their arms back and forth.

_Stupid mirror._

“Interesting…” Stepping forward, ‘Tobias’ ran a hand along the markings.

Mirror ‘Tobias’ twirled mirror Azarias around with a smile before pulling him into his arms, mirror ‘Tobias’s’ fingers carding through the messy curls of mirror Azarias.

He just crossed his arms with a scowl, forcing himself to look away.

“What do you see? You don’t seem very happy with it, whatever it is.” ‘Tobias’ smiled conspiratorially. “Is it embarrassing? You can tell me, I won’t judge you.”

Aza’s nose scrunched up at the syrupy and manipulative tone of the man’s voice. “You tell me what you see first, as you seem just as uninterested in whatever it is, if more curious on how the thing works.”

“How Slytherin of you...” Stepping back to his side, the man stared at the mirror before looking at him with unreadable eyes. “I see a mirror. Go on and move as you wish, it’s just a mirror to me.”

Humming, suddenly curious about something, he moved out of frame under the guise of picking up a piece of rubble off to the side, moving back to see ‘Tobias’ looking from him to the mirror. “Can you see the rock?”

Blinking a few times- as assumedly he’d seen Aza still even when Aza wasn’t in sight of the mirror- the man nodded with a small frown. “Yes… like I said, it’s just a mirror.” Even he didn’t sound like he fully believed that anymore, peering at the mirror for a moment before looking back at him. “I guess I have all I could desire. And you?”

Mirror Azarias and mirror ‘Tobias’ were dancing now, swaying back and forth to a slow song he couldn’t hear. Mirror ‘Tobias’ caught his eyes and winked before tucking his cheek against mirror Azarias’s head.

He glowered at the stupid charmed object. “I see Dumbledore. Dead.”

“Hm. A bit more violent than I was expecting, but I can understand the uncertainty in an unpredictable opponent and the want for safety.” Putting a hand on his shoulder, ‘Tobias’ smiled thinly. “He will not hurt you under my protection.”

“...thanks.” He didn’t look back at the mirror, instead just turning slightly to look at ‘Tobias’. “Since I missed lunch, you want to show me where the kitchens are?”

‘Tobias’ smiled a bit wider. “Only if you do not use such information for nefarious purposes.”

“I would _never_.” He smiled innocently, crossing his fingers behind his back.

The man huffed softly. “Please refrain from lying straight to my face, Azarias. You’re a horrible gremlin of a child and we both know it.”

Laughing, he let the man steer him out of the room, a bright grin on his face. “As long as you know that!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Aza:** _-eating a cinnamon roll-_  
>  **Tobias:** Cannibalism.  
>  **Aza:** _-innocent, confused chewing-_


End file.
